D.C. United coach Tom Soehn doesn’t do vacations well, especially the ones smack in the middle of the season. It’s a condition common in his profession and among other restless, driven, ultra-competitive types.
“I’d say it lasts about two days, and then work starts to get into my head,” he said.
With a gap in the schedule, Soehn spent an extended holiday weekend at his lakeside house in northwest Wisconsin. He fished for walleyes, crappies and bass and pretty much got away from it all. It was time well spent with his family and a brief respite from a taxing season. But then he felt the itch, and it wasn’t the mosquitoes.
“He works as hard as any coach in the league, that’s for sure,” said Ben Olsen, the veteran United midfielder. “He’s not gonna be outworked as a coach.”
Soehn’s work ethic is rooted in his parents, Gisela and Joe, German immigrants who came to Chicago with little “and lived the American dream by working hard,” he said.
Joe Soehn learned a trade and ended up owning a machine shop.
“Good, old-fashioned, hard work,” said Tommy, as he is called by those who know him.
Tommy Soehn (pronounced “Sone”) was immersed in soccer at an early age - Joe and Gisela met at a German soccer club - and nothing has changed. His is a dedicated soccer family. Jean, his wife, played at the University of Denver. Their son, T.J., 11, the oldest of four children, is a left-footed left middle back who loves to help his father break down tapes.
A Chicagoan to the core, Soehn idolized Walter Payton as a child. He even ran up and down the same hill on which Payton used to torture himself.
As a player, he was a tough, gritty defender. If an opposing forward got by him, Soehn at least would leave an elbow to remind him he was there. He played in a couple of indoor leagues and outdoor leagues and spent four years in MLS before retiring in 2000.
“I wasn’t as talented [as other players], but I made sure I outworked them,” he said. “There were a lot of kids more talented than I was in the Chicago area who should have made it but didn’t have the heart.”
Even now, Soehn, 42, sometimes practices with his players.
“He doesn’t have the mobility that he used to have, but he still brings a passion to the game,” defender Devon McTavish said. “He’s not afraid to get stuck into tackles.”
Between last season, his first in charge, and this one, Soehn said he worked “harder than ever” to reshape the roster. Mission accomplished: Only seven players remain from the end of the 2006 season.
“Unfortunately, it took a little longer than I hoped to find their chemistry,” he said.
That, along with injuries, a few bad bounces and an uncharacteristic sluggishness contributed to a 2-7 start, the worst since the first year of the franchise in 1996. (although that team went on to win the MLS Cup).
“We were kind of going through the motions,” McTavish said.
Many fans and Internet critics pounced on Soehn, who was ripped last year when the club faded in the playoffs after posting the league’s best record.
One blog asked, “Should Tom Soehn be feeling the heat?” and a so-called mainstream news outlet went even further. On May 12, a columnist wrote, “Some MLS manager will be the first to lose his job this year. Right now, Soehn has to be considered the odds-on choice.”
Sure enough, an “MLS manager” was fired nine days later. It was Steve Morrow of FC Dallas.
Soehn, meanwhile, remains employed, and United has turned things around with a six-game MLS unbeaten streak that includes five victories, plus a win over Chicago on Tuesday in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match.
Soehn, who said he never lost faith in his players, can be blunt and honest to a fault. The short-term effect often is jarring, but later on the approach often is appreciated. When he was promoted from assistant to replace Peter Nowak before the 2007 season, some of his players described Soehn as “old school.” He said he wasn’t sure what that meant.
“Al I know are the things I learned from playing and all the coaches I played for,” he said. “For me, it was real easy. I know what it takes to go out and compete, and I expect it from everyone else. You’ve got to come to work every day, and everybody’s accountable. I always felt the coaches who I adapted to the best were the ones who were honest with me. I’m very honest with the guys.”
Said Olsen: “Athletes like to know where they stand. We felt we were failing a lot of people. But that’s the thing about Tommy. He just sticks to what he does. He’s hard-working, and he expects the players to be as hard-working and dedicated to this as he is.”
When things were going bad, “I think I just dug deeper,” Soehn said. “I watched more film, prepared harder. I made sure nothing was left short on their side.”
General manager Dave Kasper said: “He does a lot of video analysis, breaking down plays, and he has a great way of communicating with the players, both one-on-one and collectively.”
When United started 0-3 last season, Soehn briefly benched Jaime Moreno, the veteran leader and league icon. This year, Soehn sat Luciano Emilio, the 2007 league MVP and its top scorer. Emilio has since responded with a binge of goals, and United is winning again.
“There are different ways to try to motivate,” Soehn said. “One of the best is to let them sit and watch and let them get hungry.”
Soehn spent three seasons as an assistant in Chicago and three more as an assistant to Nowak, who left after the 2006 season to become an assistant coach with the U.S. national team. Before he was hired as Nowak’s replacement, Soehn tried to land an MLS coaching job. He talked to Chicago, Real Salt Lake, FC Dallas, Chivas USA, Kansas City and Toronto FC.
“I almost interviewed for everybody,” he said.
Soehn rejected a few jobs, and even more rejected him. Career role player, career assistant. Maybe he wasn’t a big enough name.
“I tell you what, it’s not a snazzy hire,” he said. “I was more or less a role player. It’s not a sexy hire.”
He acknowledged he got frustrated and occasionally discouraged, “but it motivates you more to show those teams they made a mistake,” he said.
Soehn wasn’t at the top of United’s list, either, but that’s because there was no list. It was just him.
“Other organizations didn’t know what he was bringing to the table,” Kasper said. “Lucky for us.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.