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Chat Reel: Sigi Schmid
L.A. Galaxy head coach ready for MLS Cup
Posted: Thursday November 18, 1999 10:21 PM
L.A. Galaxy head coach and MLS Coach of the Year Sigi Schmid chatted with CNNSI.com users as MLS Cup '99 approached. A transcript of the chat follows: CNNSI Host: We'd like to welcome L.A. Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid to our chat today. Welcome, Coach Schmid, and congratulations on being named MLS Coach of the Year.
Sigi Schmid: Thank you. I was surprised at the honor but I'm very pleased and happy to accept it.
From Jim: Hi Sigi, I had the privledge of playing for you when you first broke into coaching some 25 years ago at Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, California. It looks like you've done pretty well for yourself since then! What approaches to coaching are you able to carry forward to the professional ranks, from coaching us kids way back then?
Sigi Schmid: Really, not much has changed since my days at Bishop. The practice field is better. We don't have someone hitting baseball into our practice. And we have a lot more support from the administration. But my coaching philosophy has stayed the same. I am still a nag and a but in players' ear. I demand that they do certain things well. We try to play small-sided game, five against five up to eight against eight, towards big goals as much as possible in every practice.
From Guest: How close is L.A. to building its own stadium? Have you heard the rumors that the city will give the Galaxy land for a stadium if it wins a championship?
Sigi Schmid: Mr. [Galaxy President Timothy] Leiweke is working hard on that project and I feel very confident that before we start next season we will have a site determined. It's one of the reasons I came to the Galaxy. I was convinced that a soccer stadium was in L.A.'s future.
From Guest: You were brought in at the beginning of the season to "save the Galaxy," so to speak, after some early struggles. How did you approach that challenge? What was your assessment of the Galaxy when you took over?
Sigi Schmid: My approach was to shorten practices. But to make practices more intense, to get the players to compete everyday. And to get the players to have fun and enjoy playing soccer. My assessment of the Galaxy was that they were a talented team who had grown unhappy for reasons I am not certain. But that I as a coach did not need to change everything but had to help the team establish its focus, its goals and make them happy again.
From Guest: What prompted you to leave UCLA and join the Galaxy?
Sigi Schmid: The challenge of coaching the Galaxy, coaching in pro soccer was the most important reason. Being able to stay in L.A. and coach and since I am a divorced father, it allowed me to stay close to my kids who live with me and not disturb their lives. I think the main reason as someone else told me, was that if you don't accept challenges that life presents, you lose your zest for living. An old Irish guy told me that.
From Guest: Kevin Hartman was named as the league's best goalkeeper. Is he as good as his stats indicate? How do you keep him motivated and at the top of his game?
Sigi Schmid: Kevin is as good as his stats indicate. He's the best goalkeeper in the league with regard to his reactions and making saves on the line. Motivation is not a problem with Kevin because he is amongst the hardest-working players I have ever coached. Usually we have to tell Kevin to stop working. We never have to ask him to work more.
From Guest: Do you think the forcast of rain will help or hurt your team?
Sigi Schmid: Rain will hurt both teams, hurt the game, but if it rains we will have to find a way. Rain makes the game more physical, and more aerial, so the ball is in the air more, and puts a higher premium on winning aerial duels.
From Guest: Why do you think that professional soccer in the U.S. has not gained the popularity of that in Europe? Is it a lack of knowledge from the fans or is it still too new?
Sigi Schmid: We still have too many soccer-aware people who are fans of their children but not of the game of soccer. We have to convert that group of fans to become fans of soccer, and then things will increase. I am very confident that soccer will make it, because too many people now make their livelihoods off the sport, which was not imaginable even 10-15 years ago.
From Guest: Do you think becoming coach of the U.S. National Team might be in your future?
Sigi Schmid: If I was called upon to do that job I would feel honored and would certainly relish the opportunity. But at present the U.S. has a very capable coach in Bruce Arena who is a friend of mine and who I wish all the best to. So maybe when Bruce is finished, I would be happy to be considered.
From Guest: What do you think of the changes MLS made, getting rid of the shootout and changing the timekeeping?
Sigi Schmid: I think both changes are positive. Don Garber told me he wanted to give the game back to the soccer-knowledgeable fans. And I think that is what he's done with these changes. But more importantly I think the addition of regular TV time slots for a game of the week and a weekly highlights show are going to help promote the sport tremendously.
From Guest: Your team tends to spread the scoring around, as opposed to having a couple of hotshot players. How do you encourage teamwork among your players?
Sigi Schmid: I have always had teams where I encourage everyone to attack and everyone to defend. And as a result it makes it harder for opponents to defend us, so the key is team success, and maybe we sacrifice individual scoring titles, but team success is the most important. We encourage that at practice through playing the small-sided games, especially 5 against 5.
From Guest: Who were your most valuable players this season?
Sigi Schmid: Everyone. For me, it's always what you try as you build a team is you put players on the field who can complement each other. So you have key players, for instance Mauricio Cienfuegos, so with him as a key player, we need a good defensive player in midfield like Danny Pena.
From Guest: Do you expect any big changes for the Galaxy next season?
Sigi Schmid: We expect some changes. How big or small depends a little bit upon the league, upon salary cap restrictions and the fitness of some players as they grow older. But at this point it's too early to say for sure.
From Guest: What's your strategy in taking on D.C. United? What's the game plan?
Sigi Schmid: The game plan is to win. But we have to certainly be aware of Marco Etcheverry. If we can contain him, it will make it easier to stop Jaime Moreno and Roy Lassiter. But the best way to do that it to make D.C. United worry about us.
From Guest: To what do you credit your defensive success this season?
Sigi Schmid: It's a credit to the whole team, playing good team defense. The very consistent play of our main defenders, our goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, Robin Fraser, Greg Vanney, Ezra Hendrickson, Danny Pena and the reborn Paul Caligiuri, who has had a great season for a player of his age.
From Guest: How does coaching in the pros compare with coaching at UCLA?
Sigi Schmid: It's different but it's the same. Different because the quality of player is better. Every team has great players that you play against. And therefore mistakes get punished much quicker. It's the same because players still want to hear from you when they're doing well, and they want to hear from you when they're not doing well. And it still has to be fun for them to play well.
From Guest: Having coached for so long at UCLA, what would it mean to you to bring LA a championship?
Sigi Schmid: It would be tremendous. At UCLA, I played on three teams that went to a final four, and twice lost in the championship game. So when we won the title when I was a coach, it was a great feeling. And now I want us to be the professional team that brings L.A. a title in the '90s, because it would give us a unique place in the history of the city, and it would give the players, in their retirement age, a story to tell their grandchildren.
CNNSI Host: Thanks for joining us today, Coach Schmid... best of luck against D.C. United.
CNNSI Host: A transcript will be available soon from the soccer and MLS Cup pages on CNNSI.com. Thanks for joining us, everyone.
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