Following Nolan Sheldon's transition from director of D.C. United's academy to assume the role of assistant coach under Ben Olsen, United have announced the hiring of Ryan Martin to replace Sheldon. Martin, who most recently helped head coach John Harkes launch FC Cincinnati, who finished third in USL during their inaugural season, sat down to discuss his background and decision to come to the nation's capital.
Read more on Martin's hiring
*Note: Portions of this interview have been edited for conciseness and clarity
Ryan, welcome to D.C. United! Tell us a little bit about your playing career.
I grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and attended Ohio Wesleyan University where I played for my dad. He is now going into his 41st year coaching and is the all-time winningest coach in college soccer history. Having a chance to play with him was unbelievable and he’s a big reason I’m in coaching now. After that, I played with Real Salt Lake for a year, then floated around in the lower leagues of Iceland and Germany for a couple months in each. I ended up having an injury and had the opportunity to start coaching at Wake Forest University in 2007.
How was that transition from playing to coaching?
In my first year coaching at Wake Forest University, we won the national championship, so I figured this is pretty easy! I started as a volunteer for Jay Vidovich, and worked my way up to Recruiting Coordinator and First Assistant Coach. I stayed there until 2015, where I recruited a number of United kids...Collin Martin, Jalen Robinson and Ian Harkes...and we went to three Final Fours. I was with the Columbus Crew in 2015 and was the head coach of their Under-23’s two summers ago when I got a call from John Harkes, another D.C. connection, who offered me a position to essentially help build a franchise from scratch in Cincinnati. After he and I built up the organization starting in August of 2015, we finished third out of 29 teams in our inaugural year and had a decent run there. I then had the opportunity to meet Dave [Kasper] and was offered the position of running the academy here.
What was it like building a franchise from scratch?
It was exciting, but nerve-wracking, because you start in August, and you have a set budget with zero players. How do you spread the money around and get quality players and then how do I take those 25 guys and mold a team? I think that was the hardest but best part, because we were able to put a team together and knew a lot of the guys. A lot had college soccer backgrounds or played in MLS and not made it for one reason or another, so we had an ambitious group. For us to finish third and have the MVP and Golden Boot winner who I worked with at Wake Forest, it was a great experience.
Taking what you've learned from coaching both at the college and professional level, what methodologies do you plan to apply with the academy teams?
I view the college soccer game as part of the developmental pyramid. While I was there, we had quite a bit of success at Wake Forest...we had 15 to 20 players drafted. My methodology and the way we did things [at Cincinnati], John and I saw things very similarly, and we took a lot of aspects of the Wake way from Jay Vidovich, [for example,] building out of the back or push in behind and bring our six deep. Can we control the game with and without the ball, and play an attractive brand of soccer, which I think was a big reason for the high attendance in Ohio. The Wake Forest team that just went to the national championship...I recruited nine of the 11 starters.
What factors influenced your decision to leave USL and join D.C. United?
I grew up in Columbus as a Crew fan, and D.C. was the team that always came in and beat the Crew. My first MLS experience was a D.C. United game against Columbus in 1996...Columbus won 4-0. I always thought LA Galaxy and D.C. were the two premier franchises in the league, and they do it in very different ways. I’m more adept towards the D.C. way, where you do it with less and with the people around you. Getting to know Nolan, I’ve always thought really highly of the way they develop players here, that’s why I recruited a bunch of them [while at Wake]. The opportunity to be a director and put my own stamp on things was exciting for me. Sitting down with Dave and meeting Ben, I could tell the culture here is tremendous. Everybody’s rowing in the same direction, from the first team all the way down. I’m building on what Nolan started and he’s done a great job and how can we improve what is already there. I walked out of the interview with Dave and I said, “this is the place I want to be.” I had opportunities to stay in USL and different opportunities in MLS, but when Dave called, it was a no-brainer. Getting to know all the academy guys here has been great. I got a feeling of how healthy the culture is here, and that’s set by Dave and Ben. The room for growth both personally and professionally...they give opportunities for people to grow. Being part of an MLS team is what I wanted, and to have the chance at a premier franchise was an easy decision.
Did John Harkes, a D.C. United legend, have anything to do with your decision?
I talked to him about it for a long time, and he was one of the biggest advocates for making the move. He said, “What a great opportunity you’ll have and to put your own spin on the academy there.” I talk to John still pretty much every day...he was a big push in me coming here to D.C.
As you get your first few days under your belt, what goals do you have for the academy?
My first goal is to be here for a while! I’m excited about this opportunity, and my long-term goal is to keep building on what Nolan started. Can we keep increasing the talent level in the Academy...can we keep bringing in the most talented kids around. Young kids don’t understand just how difficult it is to become a professional soccer player, and we have the perfect pathway to do it. Can we establish a style of play and an identity across the youth academy where across the country when someone sees a D.C. team, you know. Nolan’s done an unbelievable job with his methodology and it’s all about continuing building off that. Can we keep putting guys in the first team, because that’s the end goal, obviously with a professional academy. Fortunately, two of my players I worked with at Wake went on to become professionals here, Collin Martin and Jalen Robinson. Then on the other side, there’s the holistic approach with the guys that don’t become professionals right away, can we help them get into college and do things the right way and build the group. For me, coming in and continuing the tremendous job that Nolan and the staff have done here and putting a couple of my own spins on things I’ve learned, whether it's from overseas observing or my other experiences, that may be different from Nolan but helps everybody out as well.
What do you want to take from the United first team and integrate in the academy?
The biggest takeaway is the work rate of the group in the first team, and Nolan has done a good job instilling that in this young group. The next step is adding creativity in the attacking third, can we be a team that plays in all five phases of the game and the big one is can you get to goal and create, not only from wide areas and switching the point of attack, but can you attack centrally and break down teams and dominate the game. So for me, as I’m looking through videos of the different teams, meeting with the coaching staff later, continuing what we’re doing but can we get to goal in every single training session. Can you make sure restarts are involved. Restarts aren’t just corners and things like that, there are middle-third restarts. 30% of goals are scored from them, so why not train kids at them from a young age. Look at Toronto against Montreal, they got to the MLS Cup on restarts. Can these kids be prepared when they step into the first team and get an opportunity. Not just getting a contract, but really making it, and there is a difference in that.
What excites you most about this new opportunity?
First, the talent level in the area is incredible. I think you’ll find few markets in MLS that have [such a wealth of young talent]. My recruiting background can help...I’ve recruited [while at Wake] talent from here all the way up to Baltimore. Secondly, being part of an MLS organization, that’s inherently exciting. This is an established academy, where quality pros have come from, and Nolan and the staff have been tremendous in the growth of this group. The environment and the healthy culture from Dave and Ben here is tremendous. The access the academy has with the first team is incredible...they’re right down the hall. The people here have been great, unlike anywhere I’ve been in terms of culture. It’s been a breath of fresh air since I’ve been here.
