The Vancouver Whitecaps are moving to MLS in 2011, but Martin Nash, their 34-year-old captain, won't be with them on the field.

Nash, the brother of NBA star and Whitecaps part-owner Steve Nash, accepted an offer to be a Whitecaps scout and youth coach after a 16-year playing career. He led Vancouver 's D-2 Pro League team with five goals and eight assists in 2010 but was told he's have a limited playing role in 2011 -- a role he couldn't accept.

"I wanted to go out on a high and not just slump away," Nash said. "So it was the right time for me [to retire as a player] ... I really wanted to play next year but I wanted to be the same player I am now -- a mainstay in the middle of the park. That's the way I wanted to go out."

Vancouver coach Teitur Thordarson said Nash, who will turn 35 in December, was one of the best distributors he had ever seen but that he had begun to have a hard time finishing games. Thordarson did credit Nash with playing a huge role in leading the Caps' young team. In anticipation of its move to MLS, Vancouver brought in lots of new players during the D-2 season.