Bakersfield, Calif., January 25, 2005 - The new Premier Development League soccer team in Bakersfield has been named: The “Bakersfield Brigade”. Team owner, Jeffery Thorn, made the announcement, noting the common goal for the Bakersfield Brigade is to enhance and grow the game of soccer in Bakersfield.   “This PDL team will provide a farm system to encourage the further development of local youth, high school and college players by competing at a very high level of soccer,” said Thorn. “A Brigade is defined as a group of persons organized for a common purpose or goal. We feel strongly the name clearly represents our mission for the development of soccer in Bakersfield.” 

 "We are excited to welcome Bakersfield to the USL family," said PDL Director of Operations Steve Clamp. "We are very impressed with what the Brigade organization has done thus far and expect the club to be very successful over the coming years."

The team also unveiled its official colors; red, black and silver, and logo, which consists of a soccer ball in the center of a shield with the city’s name on top of the shield with the team name, Brigade, jetting out from the bottom of the shield.

The team name was selected from over 300 entries in a “name the team” contest sponsored by the Bakersfield Californian and El Californiano last fall. Four separate entrants submitted the name Brigade. Each of the four winners will receive a pair of 2005 season tickets, a replica team jersey, a soccer ball autographed by the 2005 Brigade team, and the opportunity to be involved with the coin toss at the Brigade’s opening night game.

 

The Bakersfield Brigade are in discussions with the Kern County Soccer Park to be their home facility for the 2005 season and into the future.  The discussions include the development of a 1,000+ seat facility that would be the permanent home for the Brigade. The long-term plan would also include additional lights over the field, dressing rooms, showers and possibly a VIP club section.

The Bakersfield Brigade announced their Head Coach, Jay Gore. For the last eight years Gore has been a head coach in Bakersfield with local high schools. He is currently the head coach of the Liberty High School Boys Varsity team; previously, he spent five years with West High School and two years with East High School. Gore has also served as a volunteer assisting with coaching at California State University, Bakersfield, where he graduated with a B.S. degree in Mathematics in 1999. Gore has been heavily involved in youth soccer in the Bakersfield community, serving as a head coach with many local club teams including the Gunners, Quicksilver, Nightmares and Express since 1994.  Gore’s playing career as a defender and midfielder spanned seven years and included a USL D3 championship in 1997 with the Albuquerque Geckos. Gore’s career included stops in the USL A-League (Albuquerque Geckos 1998, San Francisco Bay Seals 1999), the USL PDL (Chico Rooks 2002) and USL D3 (New Mexico Chilis 1996, Albuquerque Geckos 1997, Chico Rooks2000-2001). At CSUB he was a four-year letter winner (1992-1995).

As head coach, Gore’s first step in putting together the 2005 Bakersfield Brigade squad is to hold an open tryout for the public. The open tryout will be held on Saturday, February 12th from 9:00am-2:00pm at Liberty Park, located on the SE corner of Brimhall and Jewetta.  Anyone over the age of 18 is welcome to come attend the tryout. The cost is $25 and will include lunch, a Bakersfield Brigade T-shirt, and a ticket to opening night.  Players must register at 9:00am at the South end of Liberty Park.  For more information on the tryouts, contact the Brigade office at 661-410-KICK (5425).

The Bakersfield Brigade have launched their new website www.bakersfieldbrigade.com. The website currently has contact information for the Brigade as well as information on tryouts, ticket packages and corporate partnership opportunities. The site provides the media with a link to download the Brigade logo and access press releases. Fans can also sign up for the Brigade e-mail list to receive regular updates on the team’s progress. The schedule for the 2005 season will be posted on the Brigade site once it is released from the league later this month.