Vuckovic’s Voltage

Owner Has Made His Mark on Vermont Franchise

March 26, 2008

By Paul Wackrow

Moving a struggling soccer team from a city with a population of over 200,000 to a small town 30 miles to the north might seem like a poor business decision. But this is exactly what Vermont Voltage coach Bujon “Bo” Vuckovic did when he purchased the team in 1999 – and he hasn’t looked back since.

Vuckovic, and the team he has helped to build, are anything but conventional. A native of Serbia, Vuckovic came to the United States in 1991 to play for Franklin Pierce University. Following a successful college career, the young Serbian spent most of the ‘90s playing for indoor clubs as a forward across the country, sprinkled around short stints at the New England Revolution and New Hampshire Phantoms.

In spring of 1999, at 28 years old, Vuckovic landed in Vermont. Within a year of arriving at the Voltage, Vuckovic would be juggling the titles of player, owner, and manager.

Vermont Voltage

However, the history of the Vermont’s only professional soccer team did not begin with Vuckovic, and did not even begin with the name “Voltage.” The team was founded in 1997 as the Vermont Wanderers, originally playing in the D-3 Pro League. Playing their home games in and around Burlington, the Wanders struggled for a playoff spot during their first season, eventually settling for fifth place in the Northeast Division with a 7-11 record.

Their second season was nothing more than an embarrassment. Renamed the Vermont Voltage, they recorded only three wins throughout the entire season. The campaign ended on a low point, with a horrific 9-0 loss to Central Jersey. Coach Jamie Hutchins resigned halfway through the season, and the Voltage finished again in fifth place, with their future up in the air.

Though 1999 saw another fifth-place finish, some very big changes were taking place in northern Vermont. Most important was the preseason signing of Bo Vuckovic. With playoff hopes dead by mid-July, those first three seasons marred the Voltage as a lost cause. The only point of interest came after the season ended when Vuckovic purchased the struggling team and moved their home field to St. Albans, only 15 miles from the Canadian Border.

Vuckovic’s impact on the squad was immediate, with the signing of Goran Hunjak, originally of Croatia, for the 2000 season. Hunjak was 33 when he arrived at the Voltage, but his stints at two MLS teams gave the mostly college-aged team a much needed boost of experience. The team also welcomed fellow Serbian Bo Simic, who netted five goals throughout the season. But it was Vuckovic, both on and off the pitch, who made the difference for the Voltage.

With 17 goals, Vuckovic was the leading scorer, and the revitalized team finished the season in second place with a record of 11-6-2. It was also the first season the Voltage made the playoffs, and the USL recognized their turnaround by awarding Vermont the most improved organization for 2000.

The next year brought a slight dip to third place, unfortunately eliminating the Voltage from a playoff spot. However, with the signing of Oliver Occean of Quebec for the 2002 season, the Voltage signaled that they would not be down for long. Occean scored 10 goals that year, and by mid-July Vermont had sealed the Northeast Division Championship. The voltage advanced to the conference semifinals before falling to Raleigh.

The Voltage fared even better in 2003, finishing with a record of 22-5-4. Vermont clinched the PDL Northeast Division Championship for the second year in a row, but ironically fell to the second place Cape Cod Crusaders in the playoffs.

In 2004 their good fortune finally ran out. It is hard for any team to stay at the top of its game for long, but it’s even harder in the PDL. An ever changing roster filled with college students looking to expand their experience means consistency has always been a problem for PDL teams. The same factors that made it possible for a team to jump from fifth to second place also have a hand in a team dropping from first to eighth place, as happened to the Voltage in 2004. With a record of 2-1-15, the Voltage finished only two points above the Jersey Falcons in last place.

Since 2005 the Voltage have failed to finish above fifth place. For the 2006 season, fifth meant dead last in the New England Division, more than 30 points behind their regional rivals, the first place Crusaders. The 2007 change in PDL format to the Northeast Division saw the Voltage finish three spots from the bottom of the table, but they fared little better in terms of points.

Off the field there has been a good deal of improvement. In 2005 the Voltage were chosen as the Franklin County Business of the year, and in 2006 total attendance reached almost 30,000. However, soccer is all about results, and if there are no results there is no product.

The Voltage brand has expanded to include a ladies team, and a number of soccer camps, but this expansion appears to have come at the expense of team performance. In order to succeed, the Voltage need to recapture the delicate balance of experience and youthfulness. Bo Vuckovic has shown that he is a manager who is capable of taking chances. Now that the club is an established part of New England Soccer, he needs to look at what chances he can take on the field to move the Vermont Voltage to the next level.

For the history of the Western Mass. Pioneers, click here.

Return from Vuckovic's Voltage to USL

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