For Sacramento Republic FC, there is no offseason. Even before the club plays their final match each season, Republic FC football coaching and technical staff is already preparing for next season.
In addition to open tryouts and bringing back returning players, a key aspect of Republic FC’s preparations for the next year is various football operations recruiting, scouting and operational trips across the globe.
Last offseason, Head Coach and Technical Director Paul Buckle and Director of Football Graham Smith went on successful trips to Mexico and England, which paved the way to add players such as Carlos Rodriguez and Daniel Trickett-Smith to the roster.
As part of these efforts, Video Analyst and Camps and Clinics Coordinator Chris Malaneb is on a football operations trip to Ghana to scout talent and build relationships with new clubs. Malenab will be sharing updates with fans throughout his trip.
Check out the first blog post from Malenab about his trip below:
Day 1
So the first day of travel was a long one! My first flight had me leaving Sacramento at 1PM with a 4.5 hour flight to Atlanta. Once in Atlanta, I connected to a flight that lead me to Amsterdam, Holland … talk about a long flight that was about 8 hours. After a 2 hour layover in Holland we then were Ghana Bound … 6.5 hours and finally getting into the hotel.
Finally checking in at the hotel at 9PM Ghana time on Sunday … Yup it has a long day of travel. So far the travel has been exhausting but I already have made some good connections. While I am here representing Sacramento Republic FC as a scout, there are other clubs also represented including Real Salt Lake (MLS) / Real Monarchs (USL), NY Cosmos (NASL), Wilmington Hammerheads (USL) and a couple of First Wave agents who are along in the trip.
Once I got settled in at the hotel, I was hoping to get a run in but the treadmill was closed, so I asked the security guard what some options were … I just wanted a short shake out to break a sweat before calling it a night and getting ready for tomorrow when the scouting begins. He said he would be outside with me while I ran around the parking lot for about 2 miles of running. Shoutout to the security guard who kept me company and watched my water bottle while I hit up some laps. It didn’t take too long to get the sweat going as it is pretty humid out here, though there weren’t any mosquitos as I was told to be cautious for.
A few highlights from the travel besides meeting the other folks representing the various clubs was being personally picked up by the President of the Ghana Football Federation who will be with us during the next week as we watch players in action starting tomorrow morning.
The day starts early tomorrow morning as we load a shuttle at 7:30AM and head to the fields. So it is time to hit the sack and be ready for tomorrow …
Good night from Ghana … I’ll be posting updates each day during my trip.
-Chris Malenab.
You can also follow Malenab's journey on his personal website at christophermalenab.com.
For Sacramento Republic FC, there is no offseason. Even before the club plays their final match each season, Republic FC football coaching and technical staff is already preparing for next season.
In addition to open tryouts and bringing back returning players, a key aspect of Republic FC’s preparations for the next year is various football operations recruiting, scouting and operational trips across the globe.
Last offseason, Head Coach and Technical Director Paul Buckle and Director of Football Graham Smith went on successful trips to Mexico and England, which paved the way to add players such as Carlos Rodriguez and Daniel Trickett-Smith to the roster.
As part of these efforts, Video Analyst and Camps and Clinics Coordinator Chris Malaneb is on a football operations trip to Ghana to scout talent and build relationships with new clubs. Malenab will be sharing updates with fans throughout his trip.
Check out the first blog post from Malenab about his trip below:
Day 1
So the first day of travel was a long one! My first flight had me leaving Sacramento at 1PM with a 4.5 hour flight to Atlanta. Once in Atlanta, I connected to a flight that lead me to Amsterdam, Holland … talk about a long flight that was about 8 hours. After a 2 hour layover in Holland we then were Ghana Bound … 6.5 hours and finally getting into the hotel.
Finally checking in at the hotel at 9PM Ghana time on Sunday … Yup it has a long day of travel. So far the travel has been exhausting but I already have made some good connections. While I am here representing Sacramento Republic FC as a scout, there are other clubs also represented including Real Salt Lake (MLS) / Real Monarchs (USL), NY Cosmos (NASL), Wilmington Hammerheads (USL) and a couple of First Wave agents who are along in the trip.
Once I got settled in at the hotel, I was hoping to get a run in but the treadmill was closed, so I asked the security guard what some options were … I just wanted a short shake out to break a sweat before calling it a night and getting ready for tomorrow when the scouting begins. He said he would be outside with me while I ran around the parking lot for about 2 miles of running. Shoutout to the security guard who kept me company and watched my water bottle while I hit up some laps. It didn’t take too long to get the sweat going as it is pretty humid out here, though there weren’t any mosquitos as I was told to be cautious for.
A few highlights from the travel besides meeting the other folks representing the various clubs was being personally picked up by the President of the Ghana Football Federation who will be with us during the next week as we watch players in action starting tomorrow morning.
The day starts early tomorrow morning as we load a shuttle at 7:30AM and head to the fields. So it is time to hit the sack and be ready for tomorrow …
Good night from Ghana … I’ll be posting updates each day during my trip.
-Chris Malenab.
You can also follow Malenab’s journey on his personal website at christophermalenab.com.