Head Coach of the USL’s San Diego Loyal, Landon Donovan on His Vision and Values
Part 2 – The story of a famous player turned coach is always interesting but Landon Donovan brings a special and unique quality to coaching — a depth of commitment to his players’ success — that is sincerely ingrained. And, he has the experience to make a difference.
The Role of a Coach Series: Behind the Scenes with Landon Donovan
Read Part 1: LANDON DONOVAN ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A COACH
One of the best U.S. soccer players in history, Landon Donovan now embraces the role of head coach for his team, the San Diego Loyal. The team begins to play in March 2020 at Torero Stadium on the University of San Diego campus.
Don’t Miss The San Diego Loyal SC Home Opener vs. Las Vegas Lights FC is on March 7, 2020.
SoccerToday Interview with Landon Donovan on What He Values
Diane Scavuzzo: How was the recruiting been for your USL Championship expansion club in San Diego?
Landon Donovan: There’s a lot of avenues to find players. Clearly, current USL and MLS players, and then you can expand that around the globe — and you rely on scouts, people you trust, and looking at videos. You also have college players and local players, who we looked at through our tryouts.
These are players, who for whatever reason, haven’t been with a professional team yet, but who are needing an opportunity to prove that they can play at this level.
From our open tryouts, we are bringing in players into the preseason. These are kids who will now have an opportunity to be professionals. They know there’s no guarantee, but now they’re getting an opportunity.
I think that speaks to the fact that we still are missing players in our scouting system here in the US.
Diane Scavuzzo: Is player scouting and identification improving in America?
Landon Donovan:It’s getting better, but we’re still missing some players, and we’ve got to give them every opportunity to make it — if we want to keep progressing.
Diane Scavuzzo: How do you feel about being in San Diego and kicking off San Diego Loyal?
Landon Donovan: I love San Diego. I moved here four years ago with my family.
This is literally a dream come true for me.
The challenge in San Diego is that there’s a lot of competition, right? And, I don’t mean competition with other sports teams. I mean you can go to the beach, you can go to the mountains, you can drive to the border, you can hang out in Chula Vista, or you can go downtown, Carlsbad or Del Mar. There are a lot of great things to do in San Diego on a Saturday, or a Saturday night.
Our job is to connect with the community in a meaningful way.
At the end of the day, if you’re choosing between going to the beach, Balboa Park, or a soccer game, the soccer game better be really entertaining. That is what we’re committed to.
Diane Scavuzzo: You talk about entertaining soccer, how do you describe what you want to see on the field? What kind of identity do you want San Diego Loyal to have?
Landon Donovan: Well, without giving away secrets, I would say fast, assertive, on the front foot.
The last thing we want is to show up at Torero Stadium on March 7 and have a boring product for people to watch. Even if we win, that’s not what gets people excited about sports. We’ve also got to compete in a way that is fun for people to enjoy.
Sports are about entertainment. We can absolutely entertain, be competitive and win. That’s our goal.
Diane Scavuzzo: What do you look for in a player? What are the most important traits and what do you value most?
Landon Donovan: Good question. There are a few.
Do they want to be here? That sounds like a really stupid question, but you are going to get more out of players who genuinely want to be on the team than a player who thinks, “Ok, this is an option, I’ll go play there.”
We’ve done a really thorough job identifying players who actually want to be here. Money’s important, as is lifestyle and playing time, but we want people who are motivated and who want to be in San Diego.
We think that gives us a competitive advantage.
That was the first one. Now, two, we want good human beings.
I know everyone says that but …
We have forgone talented players because they didn’t fit with what we want our culture to be.
We’ve made hard decisions. But we think it is important, especially as a first-year club, and as a club that wants to connect with this community and show this city that we care. We can’t do that if we don’t have high-quality individuals. That has been second.
Then, of course, we want people who win, who know how to win, who are leaders.
Diane Scavuzzo: What does high quality mean to you?
Landon Donovan: The characteristics of a high-quality player include someone who is respectful, right?
To me, this is really important because there are so many people who have worked so hard every day to get us — San Diego Loyal — to where we are today, and to where we will be on March 7th, that I want players to understand and be respectful of that.
A sense of appreciation or gratitude is also very important.
There is a much different feeling around a group of people who are thankful for the opportunity and grateful for the opportunity compared to those who feel entitled to the opportunity.
My belief, I think you get more out of people who are genuinely grateful for the opportunity and those are the kind of players we’ve tried to seek out.
Diane Scavuzzo: Thanks, Landon.
I want to remind everyone, mark March 7 in your calendar, it is the date of the San Diego Loyal home opener. For Tickets, click here.
Read Part 1: LANDON DONOVAN ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A COACH
Coming Next Week: Interview with Landon Donovan Part 3 on Are Young Players Getting Enough Playing Time To Develop? Plus Does He Feel The Pressure To Win?
Photo Credit: SD Loyal
