Vermes Interview

In case you missed it, Thad over at The Back Post has another interview with Peter Vermes posted up over at his blog in 2 Parts. Part 1 of the interview is spent focusing mainly on the upcoming SuperDraft. Vermes talks about the teams college scouting techniques, how they do their background work before the combine via scouting, playing college teams, dvd, tv, and other means. They arrive at the combine with a few different lists that they work off of. As is to be expected, Vermes danced around a few of the draft questions so as not to potentially tip off other teams in the league. The new players the team has signed can affect who they pick, but they're more affected by how the teams in front of them pick. They look to draft for their needs, but if the players available at those positions aren't the talent level they want, they'll draft the best player available.

In part 2, Thad focuses more on questions about current Wizards players. Vermes mentions that the team offered Herculez Gomez a new contract, but Gomez was apparently looking to play elsewhere. Speaking about Kei Kamara, Vermes spoke well of him, saying their in consistent contact and that Vermes has a good relation ship with the Sierra Leone forward. He's trying his luck abroad, but the team is still hoping to re-sign him. In regards to Claudio Lopez, the team is still talking with him and trying to work something out, but they are not there yet and Lopez is currently down in Argentina. We find out that two of the Wizards three goalkeepers, Kevin Hartman and Eric Kronberg are both currently out of contract, which could change the upcoming draft strategy. Vermes also speaks well of Roger Espinoza, Chance Myers, and Kronberg's training time in Croatia with Dynamo Zagreb. He says that for Myers and Kronberg it's a chance to continue to recover from their injuries that affected them for long portions of the 2009 season. For all 3, it was an opportunity for them to get more training and learn from a different coach in a different system to help their development.

Like Robb Heineman on Bigsoccer earlier this week, Vermes puts the Andy Herron rumors to bed, saying his name had come up to them months ago, but the team didn't act on it. He did say they have quite a few players on their list, and they've put a lot of work into bringing in a few players, but reiterates the issues with bringing in international players. Finally Thad asks him about the game on opening day and the extra interest in the game now that Curt Onalfo is coaching DC United. Vermes brushes off that saying that it's more interest for "you" and that while the team is focusing on the game, they're not overly focused on that aspect of it.