Photo courtesy of Duke Sports
By JOHN BOSCHINI
Cole Grossman is ready to move on.
After four up-and-down years at Duke, the senior midfielder has set his sights on the MLS and the challenges that lie therein.
"It's an incredible learning opportunity," Grossman said. "I'm just really excited to just to keep improving and just to get better by playing against other guys going into the league."
During his tenure in Durham, the midfielder scored 25 goals and contributed 24 assists, showing the kind of balance between scoring and distribution Grossman hopes MLS clubs are looking for.
As good a career as Grossman had at Duke, the beginning of his college career was rocky. John Rennie, who lured Grossman away from his native St. Louis to play at Duke, left the coaching position after 29 years and was replaced by John Kerr. It was a situation that could have turned disastrous. But Grossman and Kerr bonded, and the Blue Devils advanced the Round of 16 in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
"It was challenging in the beginning because Cole was very loyal to the previous coaching staff and he's not the type of guy to change loyalties quickly," Kerr said. "But we eventually developed a great relationship. He was the heartbeat of this team. He loved everything about Duke soccer and that was very contagious."
Despite playing week after week in the ultra-competitive ACC, Grossman became frustrated with the level of skill in college soccer. The different style of play forced Grossman to get away from his prefered style of passing and keeping possession to a direct, physical approach.
"Since I got to Duke, I've definitely gotten bigger and stronger," Grossman said. "It was difficult in the beginning because we had some discipline issues and we sometimes didn't have the best players, but it forced me to adapt."
Grossman's senior season didn't end the way he would have hoped. After spending much of the season in the top-half of the rankings, Duke struggled mightily down the stretch, exiting the ACC Tournament in the quarterfinals and falling to South Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It was in the first round of the NCAA Tournament that Grossman exhibited his value to the Blue Devils, scoring two second-half goals to beat lowly Coastal Carolina 2-1.
"He just put the team on his back that night," Kerr said.
Grossman said it was difficult to end his college career with such disappointment but the worst part has been the lengthy layoff from competition.
"We didn't make the Final Four and so I've been out of it longer than maybe some of the guys I'll be competing against at the Combine," Grossman said. "I mean, I've played soccer every day since the season ended but nothing can compare with 11 versus 11."
In Florida, Grossman hopes to impress coaches with the dual passing and shooting skills that made him a standout in the ACC, where he garnered first-team recognition. With the MLS Draft approaching quickly, Grossman knows that the next few weeks are vital as to where he could end up on draft day but he said he's trying to approach the MLS Combine like any other game.
His friends aren't doing much to help his focus.
"I get those emails from my friends linking to mock drafts and things," Grossman said. "I don't think it's a huge deal to look at them but I don't because soccer is so subjective it's difficult to project. With football it's easier because it's broken down by position, but if you have 10 coaches watch the same player, they will have 10 different opinions."
Wherever Grossman ends up next season, he is most excited about honing his skills against better players. It's that willingness to learn and a desire to always improve that makes Kerr optimistic about his professional prospects.
"He loves training," Kerr said. "Whether it be drills or games or whatever he just loved playing the game and that's a great thing to have as a coach."
