Catching Up With: Perek Belleh

SNE Talks Soccer With Former URI Standout

By Mark Goodman

March 23, 2009

When Perek Belleh�s soccer career at the University of Rhode Island was over, it seemed a pretty good bet he had a future in the professional ranks.

Perek Belleh was an assistant coach for the LeMoyne College men's soccer team in 2007 and 2008. (Photo courtesy of LeMoyne Athletics)

The 6-foot-1 striker was coming off a senior season with the Rams in 2003 that saw him lead the Atlantic-10 in scoring with 12 goals, earn the A-10 conference tournament MVP award, and be named to the NSCAA/adidas Division I All-New England First Team (where was joined by Brown graduate and current Revolution midfielder Jeff Larentowicz).

Shortly thereafter, Belleh was drafted in the first round (10th overall) by the Rochester Rhinos of the USL�s First Division. The Rhinos cut Belleh before the regular season, but before long, he signed with the New England Revolution. Belleh spent most of the 2004 MLS season with the Revs, but never saw any first team action.

After a spell in Germany, Belleh eventually found himself as an assistant coach for the men�s soccer team at LeMoyne College - located in his hometown, Syracuse, N.Y. - the last two years. Working with head coach Tom Bonus, Belleh helped lead the Dolphins to a 13-6-3 record (9-3-1 in the Northeast-10) and a berth in the NCAA Division II tournament.

Belleh recently resigned from the post to pursue a master�s degree in secondary education.

Today, in the first of a two-part series, Soccer New England catches up with the former URI star. Click here for the second part of this interview.

Soccer New England: How did you get into coaching?

Perek Belleh: After my time with the New England Revolution ended, I went to Germany and played there with the Emden Kickers (in Germany�s Third Division)� When I came back (to the U.S.), it didn�t look like me chasing the dream of being a professional footballer was the best decision to make. I wanted to stay in the sport that I love so much, so I decided to get into coaching.

I began coaching my former high school (Thomas J. Corcoran HS, in Syracuse, N.Y.) with the junior varsity team for a season, and I was coaching youth soccer, too, in the Syracuse area.

SNE: How was your time in Germany?

PB: It was definitely an experience. It was all a learning process for me. I appreciate the sport, and I appreciated another angle of it, the Germany style of football. Just life in Germany is different than being in the United States. It was a good time, though, and I was glad that I got to see it with my own eyes.

On playing time in Germany:

It was the same type of deal I had with New England - I really didn�t get a look-in with the coach� For me, professional football is all about an opportunity, and if you find a coach that likes your style and wants to give you a chance, then you have a chance to become something�

I really didn�t get that chance. In training, I did well. In friendly matches, I did well. But I never got into any first team matches, and then I decided it was time for me to come home.

SNE: It seems like you had the tools to get that chance. You have height, you have pace, you can finish. Why do you think these clubs you were with didn�t give you that shot?

PB: I think that, for me, a problem that I faced was that I was a striker, and it�s really hard to break into a team as an unknown quantity as a striker. And the reason why is that that�s a position that sells tickets. There�s a lot of pressure on the players there to sell tickets, score the goals and just being the star for the team. I felt that with the professional teams that I was with, they weren�t ready to give a young player like myself an opportunity to become the star.

SNE: Do you think you could still be playing professionally if you were given that chance? Would you even want to still be playing right now?

PB: Of course. I love the sport with all my heart; there�s not a lot that I love more than football. And I think that if I could�ve ever found the coach that believed in me at the professional level, I would�ve been able to do great things.

My collegiate coach, Ed Bradley, it was all about belief for him. He believed that I could be the man to lead the line for URI, and I was given that chance and I was able to produce quality things for our great institution. I think if I could�ve been given that chance at the professional level, I definitely could still be playing today.

SNE: Even though you didn�t get a chance to get on the pitch, what have you taken from your time with the Revolution?

PB: I�ve taken a lot from the Revolution. Some people think that because you don�t play, you really don�t get to do anything. But I experienced a lot while I was with the Revolution� The hard work is done during the week. The easy stuff is done on Saturday - the match is the easy part. The hard work in training and the friendships that I�ve made being with that team - and even the players that I met in Germany and Rochester - that�s what I remember.

The fans were awesome. I know that, as a kid, I looked up to the footballers that I watched on TV so much. They were definitely heroes, role models and idols for me. I felt that when I was with New England, I was somewhat of that for some kids, too - kids that I met at camps and that came out to our training sessions.

SNE: Are you still in touch with some of your Revolution teammates?

PB: Definitely. I talk to Felix Brillant quite a bit. He plays for the Montreal Impact now� I�m pretty good friends with Clint Dempsey (now playing for Fulham in England�s Premier League). When I was at LeMoyne, our team went to preseason in England, and I went to visit Clint and his wife. He gave me tickets to their match against Middlesbrough� We talk two or three times a month.

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