I've held the seat.
Executive search, interim leadership, and sporting advisory built from experience inside professional clubs.
WHY USTRUCK SPORTS GROUP EXISTS
Senior sporting decisions are rarely made in isolation. A leadership hire affects the technical staff. A coaching change affects the roster. A change in ownership or strategy can reshape the entire sporting operation.
Ustruck Sports Group was built to help club leaders navigate those moments with a partner who understands both the decision being made and the environment the person stepping into it will inherit.
That perspective comes from experience inside the club: as a player, General Manager, senior sporting executive, interim leader, and search partner.
BEFORE THE FRONT OFFICE
Before becoming an executive, I played professionally for seven years and won MLS Cup with the Houston Dynamo in 2007.
That experience still shapes how I work. I've experienced club decisions from the player side and later made them from the front office. It taught me that organizational decisions ultimately show up in the environment around the team, and that credibility with players, coaches, executives, and ownership matters.
Those relationships across MLS, NWSL, and the broader game remain an important part of how USG operates today.
Pitchside at the 2015 Orlando City SC home opener with majority owner Flávio Augusto da Silva (right) and club president Phil Rawlins (left).
ABOUT ERIK USTRUCK
I founded Ustruck Sports Group after a career spanning professional playing, club leadership, and enterprise business.
My front-office career began with Orlando City SC in 2014, ahead of the club's entry into MLS. Over nearly eight years, I progressed from team administration to Director of Soccer Operations, ultimately leading the business and operational side of the sporting organization. I oversaw an $11M multi-team sporting budget, led teams and operations across the professional structure, and helped the organization navigate significant growth, a merger, two acquisitions, and the disruption of COVID-19.
I also served on the MLS Sporting Committee and contributed to work that helped shape what became MLS NEXT Pro.
Concurrently, I served as General Manager of the Orlando Pride. During that tenure, we doubled staff, secured a 150% increase in operating budget, built out the technical operation across coaching, recruitment, analysis, medical, performance, and team operations, and secured investment in a standalone training facility. The Pride became the first NWSL team with its own exclusive training facility.
After leaving the club side, I deliberately broadened my business experience through a growth-stage healthcare company and enterprise consulting, working across operating models, organizational design, transformation, and leadership capability.
I brought that experience back into professional soccer through USG. I've since been retained twice to provide interim General Manager leadership during NWSL transitions, led retained searches that placed a President/GM and head coach, and continued supporting club leadership across sporting strategy, organizational structure, roster construction, recruitment, cap management, and transfer decisions.
That combination is what USG is built around: understanding the person, the role, and the organization around them.
“Erik is the best I’ve ever worked with. He sees the game through a unique lens, connects people across the football world, and executes at an elite level. Clubs that work with him move faster, think deeper, and achieve more.”
“Erik helped me transition seamlessly to one of the biggest clubs in the world. Always professional, always one step ahead.”
FROM PEOPLE I’VE WORKED WITH
“His trustworthy character, personality and leadership abilities enabled him to connect positively with people at all levels within the organization, making him an invaluable asset to the club.”
HOW I WORK
Operator perspective
I've experienced the game as a player, club executive, General Manager, interim leader, and external advisor. That changes how I assess a leadership role because I'm evaluating both the candidate and the environment they're being asked to lead.
Principal-led
I remain directly involved from the first conversation through search, advisory work, placement, and transition. The person you meet is the person doing the work.
Direct and confidential
Senior leadership work requires candor and discretion. Conversations stay confidential, and recommendations are clear and candid, including when they're uncomfortable.
Designed for the handoff
Whether the mandate is a search, interim leadership, or advisory work, the objective is to leave the club with the right leadership, a clearer structure, and the ability to move forward on its own.
Start a conversation
If you're hiring a senior sporting leader, navigating a leadership transition, or rethinking how your sporting operation is built, let's talk.