June 1st, 2007 . 10:52 am . By: John Carlton

Passion, Commitment, Integrity.  The purpose of the Texans Credit Union Walk of Fame is to acknowledge and honor the people who have promoted and contributed to North Texas area soccer.  So far, eight honorees have been commemorated with monuments along the walk between the youth fields north of Pizza Hut Park.  With the 2007 nominations open until Independence Day, this space is devoted to consideration of the candidates, as well as to the appreciation of those already enshrined.   Today’s spotlight is on Jason Kreis.

As MLS moves into it’s 12th season, some important historical benchmarks have been established.  New England midfielder Steve Ralston is nearing the all-time assists lead in his 12th year, and already holds records for most career minutes (28,178), career starts (317) and appearances (319).  Now that the league is getting older, some of these career marks are beginning to look pretty impressive.  Take the current career goals chase by Jaime Moreno, who almost certainly will get the record in the coming weeks.  The mark is set at 108 goals by Jason Kreis over 305 appearances (Moreno is tied with him as of this writing).  The newly-retired Kreis’ 108 goals represent not just a scoring record, but a symbol of continuity that stretches back to the league’s inaugural season.  Back then absolutely nobody predicted the 5th round pick from Duke would eventually become the league’s all-time leading scorer.  And in the early days of MLS, Kreis was certainly overshadowed by other more renowned strikers like Roy Lassiter, Brian McBride and Preki.

Despite eclipsing the century mark in career goals, Jason Kreis only led MLS in scoring once (1999) and only netted one career hat-trick.  Those facts speak more to Kreis’ consistency than anything else.  Better than 30 of his goals were game-winners, showing that he always made the most of his chances and wanted the ball when the game was on the line.  Roughly 20 percent of his goals came from free kicks and penalties, illustrating his versatility as a dead-ball specialist.  He was the first player in league history to register 15 goals and 15 assists in one season (1999).  And even though his U.S. national team dossier is fairly light (14 appearances and 1 goal), he served the team admirably when called to duty.   In a way, Kreis was something new to the American soccer scene – he was one of the few club professionals whose success existed wholly independent of the U.S. national team program.  And his career continues its unconventional trajectory.  When Kreis retired to take over the coaching reins at Real Salt Lake, he became only the eighth person in the history of the five major sports leagues in the United States to serve as head coach while holding the league’s career scoring record.

What about Jason Kreis the man?  Many have spoken of his work ethic, training habits and team-oriented mentality.  Good qualities for a manager to be sure.  Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts said of him, “Jason Kreis has overcome many obstacles and skeptics over the course of his career.  It is that strong will and determination that will make him one of the greatest coaches in the U.S. and MLS.”  Time will tell if Checketts is right, but it is clear that Kreis appreciates the task ahead of him:  to instill his own sense of humility and reverence for the game into young players like Freddy Adu.  An anecdote of the Jason Kreis brand of humility came after that first and only career hat-trick on March 20th, 1999.  When asked about the first goal, when he ran onto the ball at full speed and hit a first-time side-volley from 24 yards just inside the far post, Kreis remarked, “I got fortunate tonight.  Some of those were easier to make than they were to miss.”  Pure class. 

Former U.S. international striker Eric Wynalda once wrote of Kreis,

“If you could pick your teammates, I think a lot of guys in this league would put Kreis very high on their list. It’s kind of like when you go golfing with two buddies and you get stuck with a fourth guy. You hope it’s Jason Kreis. He’s the guy you’d want to pick to be your neighbor or the guy who sits next to you on a six-and-a-half hour flight. Kreis has what I would call a kindness about him that you just don’t see in most players. He’s a good leader. He’s a hard worker. And he’s a good teammate. I’ve played with him. He doesn’t complain about the way things should be or the way things are. He just comes to work and does his job and does it well.”

When he came to work in a Dallas uniform (1996-2004) you always knew you were getting his best.  Overall, he amassed 91 goals and 65 assists in 247 appearances, all team records, and is still the only Dallas player to win the league MVP award (1999).  What a blessing to have as the franchise’s greatest legend a player who embodies everything that makes soccer great.

As far as his legacy, MLS has always needed players like Jason Kreis for two principal reasons.  First, to demonstrate that the league has an American-born backbone and is not made up of transients year after year.   And second, to serve as a model for youngsters coming up through the domestic soccer ranks of what it takes to be a professional.  Kreis played these dual roles perhaps without even knowing it, merely taking challenges on when they came his way.  And for that, he should be recognized.  After what promises to be a long season for the new skipper of Real Salt Lake, perhaps that recognition will  come in late October at Pizza Hut Park.

Categories: FCD Lore.

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