Pontiac, MI (July 14, 2009)- Second year Bucks star, Dave Hertel (Holland, MI/ Michigan State) became the eleventh winner of the annual Paul R. Scicluna Total Soccer Player Award on Saturday night. The Bucks multi dimensional leader of this year’s unpredictable team collected what is hoped to be only the first of several potential individual honors this season. Hertel, who started out the season as a left back, moved his way up into the midfield and became the team’s leading scorer this season with five goals so far and two games left to play. Those two games are huge outings for the Bucks, as they need to win both this weekend in Canada to grab the final playoff spot in the Great Lakes Division and extend their season into next week. The Scicluna Award is named after Paul Scicluna, a former friend, mentor and business partner of Bucks original owners Dan and Jim Duggan. Paul and Jim convinced Dan to buy a Premier Development League (PDL) franchise back in 1995 and the trio formed the Bucks to play out of Saginaw, Michigan in the 1996 season.
Scicluna, known to many as the “Godfather of Michigan Soccer” came to America from Malta and started spreading his passion for soccer from his home base business, Livonia Florist. In the early 1970’s Scicluna helped start youth soccer at the Livonia Family YMCA, where four teams quickly grew in 1972 to what became known as the Livonia Wolves. The Wolves were the boys side of youth soccer, but Scicluna had an equal passion for the girls game and started the Michigan Hawks shortly thereafter. In addition to forming what is known today as one of the finest youth soccer clubs in the US, Scicluna also started Total Soccer, which was one of the largest indoor facilities of its time, with four metro Detroit locations in the 1980’s. From there, he and his partners brought professional indoor soccer to Detroit when the Detroit Rockers were born in 1989 and won a championship two short years later. While keeping busy with all the aforementioned soccer endeavors, Paul also found time to coach high school soccer at Livonia Bentley and Catholic Central and moved on to coach college soccer at Eastern Michigan. He was returning to Michigan following a recruiting trip in Ohio in April 1999 when he was killed in a car accident.
Hertel finished his college soccer career this past fall at Michigan State, leading the Spartans to Big Ten regular season and tournament championships, while being selected First Team All Big Ten. He was protected by Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer (MLS) and spent nearly a month training with the top club before cutting ties and heading back to East Lansing to finish his final credit hours to secure his college degree. MLS’ loss was the Bucks gain this season, as the S. Korean born talent decided to spend his summer with the Bucks while he prepared for soccer at the next level. “I enjoyed my time training in the MLS environment and I believe I can play at that level. I will continue to work hard to get the Bucks into the playoffs and make this my priority until our mission here is accomplished,” said Hertel. On winning the coveted Scicluna Award, “I couldn’t be prouder. This award is given to a Bucks player and only selected by Bucks coaches and players. For them to select me as the face of what it means to represent this historic club is a very humbling experience. I just want to thank Mr. Duggan and the entire organization for having me back this year and all he has done to help me get to the next level. I know one day I will make everyone here in Michigan proud of what I can accomplish either here in the US or over seas.”
Hertel’s first option after concluding the Bucks season may be to stay right in the United Soccer Leagues (USL) and move up to the professional ranks in either the First or Second Division. He may also just get on a plane and see what other opportunities there are, as two of his Bucks teammates from this season have already done. Piotr Nowak is currently negotiating with a professional club in his family’s native Poland and Nate Jafta is seeking trials in Belgium. Duggan sees a couple of his other players looking the same direction. “We were not happy to lose Piotr or Nate during the season, but we knew coming in that they were here to get fit and try to hook on with a European club. I have some contacts in Europe ready to look at a couple of our players after our season is over, and if I were Dave, I would seriously consider the opportunity. As a young single man who has no prior commitments and the ability to secure an international passport, why not give it a shot. He knows what he has to come back to if things don’t work out. But if they do work out, he has the potential to earn more money over seas than he will ever have here,” said Duggan. “I was glad to see the team choose Dave this year for several reasons. First, he is the most deserving player. Second, we needed a Spartan to finally get his name on the trophy and last and most important, this young man is exactly the type of player and gentleman that Paul Scicluna would have been proud to call one of his protégés. That may be the highest compliment I can give the young man. Any team that is lucky enough to have Dave Hertel on their roster is not only getting a great soccer talent, but they are getting a quality individual as well”
PREVIOUS WINNERS OF THE “Paul R. Scicluna Total Soccer Player of the Year” TROPHY
1999- Tino Scicluna (Butler University)
2000- Eric Pogue (Western Michigan)
2001- Paul Snape (Oakland University)
2002- John Swann (Indiana University)
2003- Stephan David (Lindsey Wilson College)
2004- Joseph Kabwe (Coastal Carolina)
2005- Nate Craft (Royal Oak, MI)
2006- Nate Jafta (Lindsey Wilson College)
2007- Kenny Uzoigwe (Toledo, OH)
2008- Steve Clark (Oakland University)
For more information, please visit the Bucks web site at www.buckssoccer.com.
