Mentorship Program Links Pro, Academy Players

May 1, 2024 – United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC News Release

Whether it’s Under-9s playing for the academy early in the morning or the First Team pros playing Saturday night for a national TV audience, they all wear the Riverhounds crest on their jerseys.

This year, those groups and every academy team in between have been brought closer together, as Riverhounds SC initiated its Mentorship Program last month.

The program pairs each pro player from the Hounds’ First Team with two or three teams from across the Riverhounds Development Academy – including all teams playing in ECNL, Regional Leagues and PA West. The pro players visit practices, attend games when possible, and connect with the academy players on their teams to be a resource and a positive influence on the next generations of Hounds players.

“It’s really awesome. We have a bunch of incredible academy coaches, and our academy programs are doing well, so it’s nice to go out there, see them train and see what their coaches are putting them through,” Riverhounds center back Pat Hogan said.

Visits from their pro team mentors are a welcome addition to the grind of practice and matches for academy players, and even for the coaches who have been around the academy the longest, the new program has been a welcome addition.

“I think it’s great. It hearkens back to the early days forming the academy when all the coaches were still current players, and it brings the academy and pro team closer,” said Jason Kutney, a Hounds pro player from 2006-13 who now coaches some of the academy’s younger teams and also is an academy parent.

“It’s very cool to see it from a different lens with my own daughter in the program and hearing their reaction and seeing their excitement,” Kutney said. “Aidan O’Toole visited her team, and now that group is talking about Aidan, finding him after the pro team’s game to get his autograph. It’s drawing a connection on a personal level, and it changes how much you support a club when you make that personal connection.”

O’Toole got to know Kutney’s team on his initial visit, first observing part of practice, but then getting to meet the team and field questions from the young players. And as so often is the case with younger players, the topics weren’t restricted strictly to soccer.

“I remember one of the questions was ‘What is your favorite type of pasta?’ and then the girls asked if they could give him a goal celebration to do,” Kutney said. “But you could tell…