After several attempts, RailHawks finally land Canadian Drew Beckie

Drew Beckie

During the course of the 2015 NASL season, Drew Beckie approached then-Ottawa Fury coach Marc Dos Santos with a trade request. He wasn’t starting, and he felt that, given the opportunity in another NASL city, he’d get the chance to play.

“The talks went back and forth,” said Beckie. “But I told Marc that as long as I’m an Ottawa player, I’m going to give you everything I’ve got. I wanted to play. I felt I should have been playing.”

A trade offer was made by the Carolina RailHawks during the 2015 season, but a deal couldn’t be finalized. But, after his Ottawa contract expired at the end of the campaign, Beckie finally made the move to North Carolina. The team announced Beckie’s arrival on Thursday.

And, even though Beckie had requested a trade earlier in the season, he confirmed that Ottawa did offer him a contract for next season. He doesn’t hold ill will towards the Fury organization.

“I was looking for something else,” he said. “I want to be clear, there was no issue with [new Ottawa coach] Paul Dalglish. I just felt like it was time for me to go. I think he’s going to be great. Look, I get to play soccer for a living. I’m not mad about anything.”

Beckie represented Canada at the qualifying tournament for the 2012 Olympics. He was a draft pick of the Columbus Crew, but dealt with injuries through most of his stay in Ohio. He played in 35 games over the last two seasons with the Fury.

He was born in Saskatchewan and grew up in the United States, so he has a green card. (He makes it clear that he is not an American citizen, though, that he’s “Canadian all the way.”) So, with the green card, he’s got the advantage of being able to go to an American team and not take up a coveted international roster spot.

Remember that, in both MLS and NASL, Canadians are only considered domestic players on the Canadian clubs, but those who have their American paperwork can be domestics on American and Canadian teams.

He’s looking forward to working with RailHawks’ coach Colin Clarke.

“He’s a great,very straightforward guy,” Beckie said. “It’s a great team, with great fans.”

Of course, as a “Canadian all the way,” Beckie has spent some of the last week watching his sister, Janine, play for the Canadian national team at the Natal Tournament in Brazil. He spoke to her after Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to Brazil.

“She’s wearing the number 10, and that comes with a lot of pressure,” he said. “But she’s done great.. She’s making strides to playing on the Olympic team.”

He said, like all young players, his sister has to learn that the intensity and focus can never waver. It’s a lesson that Drew says took him a couple of years as a professional to fully understand.