The San Antonio Scorpions announced Kevin Harmse and Greg Janicki as their first ever signings on Wednesday afternoon, while also announcing Alen Marcina and Juan Lamarid as assistant coaches.
The signings represent a huge step forward in the birth of the team, and the team will continue to take shape over the coming weeks with the Scorpions hosting a combine on Saturday and Sunday to serve as their final look at trialists.
For Head Coach Tim Hankinson it was all about building the spine of the team "You talk about the spine of the team... the attack midfielder, the defensive midfielder, the central defender and the goalkeeper."
Wednesday's signings represented filling two of those spots with Janicki to play as the central defender and Harmse to play as the holding midfielder.
Both players come to the Scorpions from the Vancouver Whitecaps having failed to secure contracts in the MLS for Vancouver's second season in the top flight.
Janicki comes to San Antonio as a significant player in the second division, having won the USSF Division 2 defensive player of the year in 2010.
Coach Hankinson was hoping that Janicki would take a leadership role, "He is going to be the cornerstone of our defense" said Hankinson. A key role in any expansion club.
Janicki expressed his happiness of not having to go through a trial period with a club, perhaps hinting at a lack of conditioning after not much playing time last year.
Janicki said "I'm just happy to be in San Antonio, it sounds like there's a real passion for soccer down here."
Janicki was hoping that his experience in an expansion Franchise would help, "Being with an expansion team last year and gaining that experience I know it will be an exciting time for the city." Said the defender.
Harmse has ties to the city of San Antonio, his wife attended High School in the town and both have been following San Antonio's soccer asperations for a number of years.
Harmse also joins from Vancouver and has played nine matches for the Canadian National Team and has a lot of MLS experience including Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the Houston Dynamo.
Harmse was unable to attend due to still awaiting his work visa which should come through in the next week or so, his wife (who is a US citizen) was in attendance.
In addition the Scorpions made two additions to their coaching staff. Alen Marcina, former player at Miami FC and the Australian A-League's now defunct New Zealand Knights, who came second in the interviews for the head coach position joins as the Assistant Coach.
Trinity University's Goalkeeping Coach, Juan Lamadid joined the team as Goalkeeping Coach, giving the club their first boneafide tie to San Antonio and a clever link to Trinity University.
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