Oly Town Artesians FC confirmed the signing of Liviu Bird as the new head coach of the team’s USL League Two (USL2) squad last Friday, December 16.
Bird, who carries a (United States Soccer) USSF A and (Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) A coaching license, has a wide coaching resumé going for him, as well as his range of experience as an analyst and a journalist of the game to Oly Town FC, which is set to compete in the 2023 USL2 regular season kicking off on May next year.
His most notable achievement in coaching was his 2020 MLS Cup Championship with Columbus Crew SC, where he was the video analysis coach under the decorated gaffer Caleb Porter. He also coached the Kitsap Pumas out of Bremerton through league and cup competitions in the 2016-17 season and is part of the coaching staff of the Seattle Sounders U23s that won second place in the Northwest Division in the 2019 USL2.
“I believe a lot in this level of play and in this league, as still being the premier development league for professional players in our country,” Bird said. “I’ve seen firsthand what playing in USL League Two means for players, and also what it means for coaches to be in this league, and I’m excited to be back in it.”
Bird, having extensive experience at the USL2, shared his thoughts on the level of play in the Northwest Division, where Oly Town FC plays.
“The Northwest Division is traditionally one of the strongest in the league, and it’s still the top place to play and coach at the pre-professional level in our region,” he said. “Back closer to my playing days (Seattle Pacific University, Pumas. and North Sound SeaWolves in USL2), we had seven years in a row where a Northwest team made the final four of the league playoffs, along with two runners-up and two national champions in that time.”
In their inaugural USL2 season in 2022, the Artesians landed fourth place out of the six teams in the Northwest Division, finishing at 3-7-2 win-loss-draw record in a season where most pundits had predicted Oly Town sitting in last. With the hiring of Bird, Oly Town FC looks to change the atmosphere and technical soccer aspects of its local USL offering.
“I am extremely excited to work with Coach Liviu this upcoming season,” said Jason Smith, former Oly Town FC coach for the USL2, who now moves to a club-wide General Manager role for USL Operations. “We will be working very hard this season on both recruiting great soccer players, but also really helping them grow while playing for Oly Town FC.”
“The Artesians signing Liviu Bird is symbolic of the programs goals to drive soccer upward here in Olympia,” said Oly Town FC principal owner Ryan Perkins. “We look forward to inspiring local kids with the talent that come here next summer and soccer camps to connect kids with the nation’s top collegiate soccer players. Pleased to see the excitement and professional nature from Coach Bird in just the weeks leading up to this announcement.”
Oly Town FC is set to have USL Open Trials on January 8 at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey and Bird and will be doing player evaluations along with several other local soccer names. Players interested in the open tryout can head to olytownfc.com to register and complete tryout forms.
“I’m hoping we’ll be able to bring in some talented young players, both from the area and also from outside, that will allow us to accomplish our goals this season,” Bird said. “We’ll aim to implement a game model based on a positional play philosophy that emphasizes forward-thinking ball possession and intelligent pressure.”
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