Leading up to the 2015 MLS SuperDraft on Thursday, January 15, a few Vancouver Whitecaps FC players will be sharing their draft day memories with whitecapsfc.com – from their experience at the combine to the moment their name was called. Today, we hear from Steven Beitashour, who was selected by San Jose Earthquakes at 30th overall in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.
“I was a little bummed out because I didn’t get an invite to the main combine. Obviously, I felt like I should have been given a chance for teams to look at me. At the same time, I had talked to San Jose and they expressed their interest in me so I felt pretty confident that they were going to take me. I just didn’t know when. So it was mixed emotions not getting invited to the combine but knowing that San Jose’s interest level was really high.”
“I also had tryouts with Chivas USA and Seattle before the draft. Back then, I played midfield and I know Chivas saw me more as a right back, which ended up working out for me in the long run. I didn’t know exactly how interested Chivas and Seattle were, but I knew San Jose was very, very interested so that was a good feeling.”
“That being said, I didn’t go to the draft. I was at home. It was ironic that we had a lot of our close family members over at that time. It wasn’t meant to be a draft party or anything like that, but they were just there at that time, which was nice.”
“They only showed the first round of the draft on TV, so after that I was following it on my phone. I pretty much figured I wasn’t going in the first round. For the second round, I was watching on my phone and my cousin asked if there were any car wash places around my house. I said, ‘Oh yeah there is one that everyone goes to.” So we went and actually I got drafted when I was in the car wash. On my phone, I was watching the little tracker. Fortunately, they had service in there. It was unique. I’ll never forget it.”
“After I got drafted, I had a lot of texts coming through from friends and family. And within about 15 minutes, San Jose called me. I spoke to their general manager and coaches. They just said, ‘Congratulations, we’re excited to have you.’”
“A lot of people may feel like the only way to make it is to go to the combine and be a high draft pick, but that’s not the case. San Jose knew exactly who I was, and they didn’t want other people to know. I’ve talked to them about it plenty of time afterwards. There’s always someone, some team, some coach that likes you and likes your style. So if you don’t get invited to the main combine, it’s always nice to get individual tryouts so they can take a better look at you. You’re not sitting in front of 60 other players and you have to really stand out. If you go to individual team tryouts, you can get a better opportunity to stand out and fortunately that’s what happened with me.”
The 2015 MLS SuperDraft will be streamed live on whitecapsfc.com on Thursday, January 15 at 9:30 a.m. PT. Stay tuned for updates leading up to and during the draft.
Participate in the best sporting experience in Vancouver! 2015 Whitecaps FC Season Tickets are on sale now. In addition to Season Tickets, Whitecaps FC offer a flexible range of ticket products, including Half-Season Packs, 5-Packs, Student Half-Season Tickets, and a Youth Soccer Half-Season Ticket. For more information on 2015 Season Tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
