Eric Puls (born July 4, 1971, in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

) is a retired American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

who played two seasons in the German third division and nine in the

USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...

. He was the head coach of the

Reading Rage Reading United AC is an American association football, soccer team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club plays its home games at Alvernia Univ ...

in 2001 and 2002.

Youth

Puls grew up in

where he was a member of the 1988

Christian Brothers College High School Christian Brothers College High School (CBC High School) is a Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, Lasallian Catholic Church, Catholic University-preparatory school, college preparatory school for young men in Town and Country, M ...

Missouri State championship soccer team. That year, he was also selected as an All State soccer player. He then attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, playing on the men's soccer team from 1989 to 1992. Puls holds the all-time record for most points as a freshman. In addition to his school teams, Puls also played club soccer with the Busch Soccer Club until his graduation from High School. He then played for the Scott Gallagher cup.

Professional

Following college, Puls moved to Germany to pursue a professional career. He signed with SV Darmstadt 98 in the second Bundesliga before moving to Rot-Weiß Waldorf of the

Regionalliga A (, plural ) is a regional league in numerous Sports governing body, sports governing bodies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, usually located in the upper or middle tiers of the sports leagues. The term is often associated with the Germa ...

where he played from 1992 to 1994. In 1995, he returned to St. Louis and signed with the

St. Louis Knights The St. Louis Knights were an American soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team began in the USISL and moved to the USL Second Division, USISL Pro League in 1995. The team was coached both seasons by Jim Bokern. Year-by-year Ref ...

in the USISL. In February 1996, the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

selected Puls in the 12th round (112th overall) of the

1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft The MLS Inaugural Player Draft, held before Major League Soccer's initial 1996 season, distributed players to the league's ten inaugural teams. The Inaugural Player Draft occurred on February 6 and 7, 1996 after each team was allocated four marqu ...

. On March 25, 1996, the Rapids released Puls during a pre-season roster reduction.RAPIDS RELEASE THREE PLAYERS
/ref> He then moved to the

where he played from 1996 to 2003. He was 1999, 2000 and 2003 All League.

Coaching

In 2001, Puls became a player-coach with the Reading Rage. He held this position through the 2002 season. In 2003, he founded F.C. Revolution, a youth club in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. He played with the F.C. Reading Revolution men's team in the NPSL until 2011 in which he retired from playing soccer. Now, he spends his time as a coach and club president for Reading Rage. He has "revolutionized" soccer by introducing the "Funnel Offense". The Funnel Offense is a variation of the 4–3–3. The layout is shaped like a triangle where the 3 forwards form a point at the head of the offense. This revelatory game strategy has taken teams to a nationally ranked status.

References

External links

F.C. Revolution profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puls, Eric 1971 births Living people American expatriate men's soccer players American soccer coaches American men's soccer players National Premier Soccer League players Reading United AC players St. Louis Knights players Syracuse Orange men's soccer players Soccer players from Missouri USISL players USISL coaches Men's association football midfielders American expatriate men's soccer players in Germany Men's association football player-managers Colorado Rapids draft picks 20th-century American sportsmen