CLU’s Salzwedel Victim of MISL Shortcomings

I am writing in regard to the Aug. 9 article by Vittorio Tafur on former Cal Lutheran soccer goalkeeper Dave Salzwedel. The article was well received at Cal Lutheran; it pointed out the obscurity that most NAIA players play under their entire career.

Unfortunately, I wish that the explanation for the MISL’s failure to draft Salzwedel ended there. In fact the MISL--at least the league office--was aware of Salzwedel. In May, 1990, CLU Coach George Kuntz received a letter from Earl Foreman, MISL commissioner, asking him to contact Jim Baker, deputy director of operations, if he had a player with the potential to play in the MISL.

Kuntz forwarded the letter to me and my office sent an informational packet, which summarized Salzwedel’s playing career and included career statistics and press clippings. The information was obviously not disseminated to MISL member teams since your article quoted Ron Newman as saying that the San Diego Sockers weren’t aware of Salzwedel.

The article goes on to quote Newman as saying that “we don’t have the (means) to hear about and look at all the top players in the country. No soccer league does.”

If the MISL can’t make enough copies of an informational packet sent from a school’s sports information office to send one to each of the coaches in the league, then perhaps soccer deserves to “. . . operate at a disadvantage in this country,” to further quote Newman.

I just thought you should know all the facts about the 1990 MISL draft. It’s a shame Dave missed his chance because the MISL doesn’t have its act together.

GREG SEILER

Cal Lutheran

Sports Information Director