Hawaii's Newest Coach
by: Lawrence Smallsposted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 at 12:30 PM
HAWAII’S NEWEST COACH
I am excited to be one of Hawaii’s newest soccer coaches. It has been a dream of mine to make it here and experience all that I have heard and read about this island paradise. Since the first time I visited in 2005, I knew I needed to find a way to live here. The road leading me to Oahu has been quite eventful and I would like to share some of these experiences.
I remember a calm winter day in California. I was twenty-one and driving from work to my parent’s house in Pasadena when I received a phone call from a teammate of mine at the university. He congratulated me because, apparently, the L.A. Galaxy in the 2002 MLS Super Draft had just chosen me. I was amazed. The next phone call was from my coach and now current Director of Coaching for Hawaii, George Kuntz. He expressed the same news and suddenly, my vision of the next phase in life started looking clearer.
I had never been tested mentally or physically as much as I was when I attended my first professional preseason camp with the Galaxy. There are a lot of soccer players out there and trying to earn a position in a league that had only 200 spots available would put some pressure on a young player. I vividly remember my first match against the Korean National Team, in town for World Cup preparation. 1 – 0 victory to us, and I never felt so exhausted after a game. The speed of play at the professional level was so much faster than what I was used to at the collegiate level.
While pursuing professional aspirations, many MLS players have to hold other jobs to sustain themselves. With the league struggling for money at the time, there was a great disparity between the highest and lowest paid players. I ended up working for Nike Soccer representing the “Swoosh” as a brand-ambassador. It was an interesting job performing a unique set of skills, demonstrations and instruction to enthusiasts all across the U.S. I also returned to my alma mater at UC Irvine to assist with the men’s soccer program. All of this helped to support me financially while I committed myself to the MLS.
It was difficult to earn a spot or consistent playing time while balancing other aspects of life. To perform at the professional level, it takes complete concentration. But the league wasn’t allowing for that with its younger players, as rosters and money were limited. Their approach to solving those problems came by way of the MLS Reserve League, which debuted in 2005.
The league took strides in developing a solid platform for more players to become professionals. It also allowed for more consistency in games. You can imagine my schedule while training to play for the Galaxy and Chivas USA, traveling with Nike, and coaching at UC Irvine. The combined experiences were invaluable, though. I was able to learn from coaches like Bob Bradley (US Men’s National Team), Sigi Schmidt (Columbus Crew), and George Kuntz (UC Irvine and now Hawaii’s Director of Coaching). Together, they helped pave the way for that one way-ticket to Hawaii.
I finally made it out here in January 2008, and it has been a blast! It was a tough decision to leave a pro soccer career. But I knew other endeavors awaited. A few friends and I started a business called F11 Productions, which is a content production and delivery system created by soccer players for soccer players and fans. F11.com is a major avenue for reaching out to those supporters here and around the world.
Soccer has been a vehicle for me to get to Hawaii and I couldn’t be happier. Le Jardin Soccer Academy invited me on board with their highly experienced staff. Coach Paco Saavedra has done a tremendous job developing a two-year program that has already seen a State Cup championship and the hiring of Chelsea FC youth coaches from England for a camp this coming summer. Kailua is where I start the newest chapter of my soccer life and I look forward to the experiences and challenges ahead. Just since January I have seen many exciting developments in the Hawaii soccer community, most recently with the Pan Pacific Championship. I see the strides Hawaii is taking as a state to develop enthusiasm and interest in a sport few understand in this country. I am privileged and fortunate to be a new member of this community. I look forward to meeting many of you and sharing in our mutual love for soccer.
I am excited to be one of Hawaii’s newest soccer coaches. It has been a dream of mine to make it here and experience all that I have heard and read about this island paradise. Since the first time I visited in 2005, I knew I needed to find a way to live here. The road leading me to Oahu has been quite eventful and I would like to share some of these experiences.
I remember a calm winter day in California. I was twenty-one and driving from work to my parent’s house in Pasadena when I received a phone call from a teammate of mine at the university. He congratulated me because, apparently, the L.A. Galaxy in the 2002 MLS Super Draft had just chosen me. I was amazed. The next phone call was from my coach and now current Director of Coaching for Hawaii, George Kuntz. He expressed the same news and suddenly, my vision of the next phase in life started looking clearer.
I had never been tested mentally or physically as much as I was when I attended my first professional preseason camp with the Galaxy. There are a lot of soccer players out there and trying to earn a position in a league that had only 200 spots available would put some pressure on a young player. I vividly remember my first match against the Korean National Team, in town for World Cup preparation. 1 – 0 victory to us, and I never felt so exhausted after a game. The speed of play at the professional level was so much faster than what I was used to at the collegiate level.
While pursuing professional aspirations, many MLS players have to hold other jobs to sustain themselves. With the league struggling for money at the time, there was a great disparity between the highest and lowest paid players. I ended up working for Nike Soccer representing the “Swoosh” as a brand-ambassador. It was an interesting job performing a unique set of skills, demonstrations and instruction to enthusiasts all across the U.S. I also returned to my alma mater at UC Irvine to assist with the men’s soccer program. All of this helped to support me financially while I committed myself to the MLS.
It was difficult to earn a spot or consistent playing time while balancing other aspects of life. To perform at the professional level, it takes complete concentration. But the league wasn’t allowing for that with its younger players, as rosters and money were limited. Their approach to solving those problems came by way of the MLS Reserve League, which debuted in 2005.
The league took strides in developing a solid platform for more players to become professionals. It also allowed for more consistency in games. You can imagine my schedule while training to play for the Galaxy and Chivas USA, traveling with Nike, and coaching at UC Irvine. The combined experiences were invaluable, though. I was able to learn from coaches like Bob Bradley (US Men’s National Team), Sigi Schmidt (Columbus Crew), and George Kuntz (UC Irvine and now Hawaii’s Director of Coaching). Together, they helped pave the way for that one way-ticket to Hawaii.
I finally made it out here in January 2008, and it has been a blast! It was a tough decision to leave a pro soccer career. But I knew other endeavors awaited. A few friends and I started a business called F11 Productions, which is a content production and delivery system created by soccer players for soccer players and fans. F11.com is a major avenue for reaching out to those supporters here and around the world.
Soccer has been a vehicle for me to get to Hawaii and I couldn’t be happier. Le Jardin Soccer Academy invited me on board with their highly experienced staff. Coach Paco Saavedra has done a tremendous job developing a two-year program that has already seen a State Cup championship and the hiring of Chelsea FC youth coaches from England for a camp this coming summer. Kailua is where I start the newest chapter of my soccer life and I look forward to the experiences and challenges ahead. Just since January I have seen many exciting developments in the Hawaii soccer community, most recently with the Pan Pacific Championship. I see the strides Hawaii is taking as a state to develop enthusiasm and interest in a sport few understand in this country. I am privileged and fortunate to be a new member of this community. I look forward to meeting many of you and sharing in our mutual love for soccer.
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