COLUMBUS -- Cory Elenio has proven to be a good student in the classroom and a quick study on the field as well.
A second-round pick in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft, Elenio graduated from the University of Evansville with a business management degree last month. Saturday, the midfielder made his MLS debut off the bench during the Columbus Crew's 3-0 win at Kansas City.
"I was surprised but definitely glad to hear my name called. It was real helpful going into a 3-0 match. It took a little pressure off," he said. "I need to get my fitness back. It's tough to play 90 minutes in these types of conditions at this level. The pace is so much quicker."
It shouldn't take long to get in shape with strength and fitness coach Steve Tashjian giving him extra work. Getting into the rhythm of the attack won't be a problem, either.
"It's still early for (Cory) because we let him finish school," coach Sigi Schmid said. "He's only been with us about three weeks so you go through the initial phase where you're excited and everything's good then you fall into a little bit of a hole because your legs start getting heavy. He's working through fitness.
"I was happy we were able to get him into the game. He's going to be a good player for us down the line because his attitude is really good but the next two or three weeks he's going to need a lot of work. He listens and you don't have to tell him things twice. He's a guy who comes out every day with a good mentality. He has a good understanding of when he is playing well and not playing well. A lot of players don't always have that understanding. He knows when he's doing all right and not doing all right and that makes it easier to coach."
As Elenio goes through the transformation from college to the pros he knows he's not alone. The Crew on Monday signed another second-round pick, Ricardo Pierre-Louis, to a developmental contract.
Pierre-Louis joined the club last week after receiving a business degree (and French minor) from Lee University, a small Christian college in Cleveland, Tenn.
"It's difficult finishing school, coming here and getting it going again," Pierre-Louis said. "In college, not all the players are good. In the professionals, there are a lot of challenges. In college it's kind of easy to play. It's challenging but not as high as the pro level. Here you get all the best players."
He and Elenio trained with the Crew in Florida during the preseason and Elenio traveled with the Crew to England prior to the season and played in one reserve match before graduating. Still, it's sometimes hard to break old collegial habits.
As Elenio took one too many dribbles during a shooting drill Tuesday, assistant coach Robert Warzycha screamed, "One touch. You're not in college anymore."
No, but the Crew did encourage the pair to complete their education after being drafted in January. Sometimes the opposite is true for the picks.
"You try to get a feel for their playing time -- how close they are to graduation. If they are a year and a half away it doesn't make sense (to stay in school)," Schmid said. "When someone is as close as Cory was, or, last year it was Ryan Junge, yes. In the case like Ricardo when he's the first one in his family to get a college education -- having been the first in my family to get one, I know how important that is to the family. Rather than steal two months here he can use those two months in college and come free of mind."
Pierre-Louis, 23, has been in Haiti's national team system since age 15 and is looking forward to his next call-up to the senior squad, possibly during World Cup qualifying.
"He's a forward, a different kind of player," said Schmid. "He likes to linger longer up front, maybe a little more intermittent in his involvement in the play but he's a guy if you forget about for a second he's going to hanging around that offside line which is what good forwards do. He's left-footed, a plus, although he strikes the ball with his right fairly well."
While Schmid acknowledges that Pierre-Louis' international experience is good for the resume he notes that it doesn't give him a substantial edge over other young players on the Crew because countries such as Haiti and Barbados aren't known for their soccer abilities.
"With all due respect, there's a lot of players in this league who could play for those national teams if they had the right birth situation but certainly playing against a Mexico, a Trinidad, a U.S., in the different games he's participated in as a member of the Haitian national team, all those experiences help," Schmid said.
Elenio, 21, has a pedigree problem, too: He was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Mich. Now that doesn't mean much to people outside of Columbus but the scarlet and gray of Ohio State doesn't mix with anything from Ann Arbor, home of hated rival Michigan. The Elenio family house is about a half-mile from the campus.
"I've been told by most guys not to wear my Michigan apparel," he said. "I'll never change sides but I'm a little more careful around here. I haven't experienced too much (heckling) yet but wherever I go I see Ohio State shirts and it bothers me. I'm so used to being in Ann Arbor."
In a strange way he might be a hero to some of those in Columbus who think OSU athletics dominate the sports scene way too much. There's also another reason to cheer for him. He and his father, Michael, have been Crew fans for years and they made their first trip (about three hours south) to Crew Stadium in 2000. His family has been to two games this season but he did not dress for either of them.
Still, the pecking order to get minutes for both got a little tougher Tuesday. Schmid was surprised to learn that defender Frankie Hejduk will not accompany the U.S. to Barbados for the return leg of the World Cup qualifying this weekend. Hejduk was in Carson, Calif., for the USA's 8-0 win on Sunday and Schmid assumed he was in south Florida training with them.
"I called him this morning. I thought he was in Miami. I was asking him if it was hot down there," Schmid said. "He told me he was in Columbus driving in. Basically I guess they released all players to MLS teams but we didn't know it until Frankie showed up today."
Stoic Moreno providing Crew big lift
Morera Talks Transfers
Baldini to coach Empoli
