Thompson sees first head coaching job as validation
Published:Wednesday | September 8, 2021 | 12:05 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
A three-year journey of learning the coaching craft has led former national goalkeeper Ryan Thompson to his first major head coaching job.
The 36-year-old Thompson was appointed by United Soccer League (USL) Championship club Austin Bold on Saturday as their new head coach, becoming the first Jamaican permanent head coach of a USL Championship franchise in the league’s history. He is also the second Caribbean head coach in league history after St Vincent’s Ezra Hendrickson, who coached the Tacoma Defiance between 2015 and 2018.
It is a coaching journey that started in 2018 when he signed with Austin as a player-coach, eager to learn more about the profession, and would later become an assistant to then head coach Marcelo Serrano.
Thompson said that his appointment is validation of the work he has done and the faith the front office has placed in him.
“For three years I was really invested in studying and getting my badges and started out as a player-coach; and then from player-coach to assistant coach, and now (that) this opportunity presented itself, it makes me feel happy,” Thompson told The Gleaner. “The work I put in is bearing fruit now, and for the owner to trust me with the franchise, it just reassures you that you are on the right path and that you are doing something that is impacting people’s lives.”
Thompson’s main backer for the job was Serrano, the man that he replaced as he took up the new post as the club’s sporting director. When the conversation was had with club Chairman and owner Bobby Epstein about Thompson taking up the job, the decision was a simple one.
“He (Serrano) entrusted me, gave me an opportunity to nurture my ability, and then when the club needed a sporting director, (he said) so maybe I need to prepare myself for that role and if I go there, I would recommend you to the owner (for the job),” Thompson said. “And the opportunity presented itself and the owner was, like, it’s a no-brainer. ‘You were there from day one. You have been doing all the work, the only thing that really changes is the title.’”
It is an appointment that Serrano has welcomed. He noted that he was proud to see Thompson take charge of a club he helped to cultivate from its inception three years prior.
CONTINUE TO SUCCEED
“We could not think of anyone more deserving or qualified to be the head coach of the soccer team we built from scratch in 2018,” Serrano said on the club website. “I’m proud to be part of an organisation that empowers the leaders within to grow in their careers, and I know coach Thompson will help the team continue to succeed.”
Thompson will get his first opportunity to demonstrate all that he has learned when he takes charge of his first game as head coach against San Antonio FC tonight at 8 p.m. Jamaica time. While mindful of the responsibility that comes with his new role, Thompson says that he is ready to take charge and is excited about the possibilities that his first step into management will bring.
“It’s definitely going to be a new (experience) for me, but every great thing starts somewhere, and I’m optimistic about the game and the decisions that I will make when the time comes,” Thompson said. “It’s going to be challenging, regardless; but I just have to keep working, putting my best foot forward, stay humble, and try to inspire them as best as possible.”