EllingerÆs work as the head coach of U-17s and Olympic assistant promises big things
Before John Ellinger was a soccer coach of any accomplishment or renown, he was a teacher. He spent 24 years in Montgomery County, Md.Æs public schools ù junior highs and high schools, teaching health and physical education and coaching wrestlers.
Not quite where one figures to find the man who come, say, 2006 or 2010 could be matching wits with the world on sportÆs biggest stage.
ItÆs hardly virgin ground, this talk of Ellinger and American soccerÆs top coaching job. He was a rising star within U.S. Soccer before New Zealand, before Sydney, but after playing significant roles in two of U.S. SoccerÆs finest performances, his path appears to be veering toward the post that currently belongs to Bruce Arena.
ôThatÆs possible,ö acknowledges the U.S. head coach.
ôObviously, as you move up age groups, you need to have professional experience,ö he continues. ôMaybe thatÆs JohnÆs next move. I donÆt know, we havenÆt spoken [about it]. I donÆt think you can jump from U-17 [coach] to senior coach, but heÆs certainly on the right track.ö
ItÆs something Ellinger has thought about.
ôI think so, in time,ö he replies when asked if itÆs a job heÆd like to try. ôI still have a lot to learn and need to take every opportunity to gain experience and player-management skills. … We all have aspirations, and it would be the highlight of my career to coach in a World Cup.
ôThereÆs no timetable here. ItÆs just [I need to] gain experience and keep applying it to what IÆm doing.ö
NEXT STEP. At the moment, Ellinger is preparing another group to make a run at the U-17 title next year. ItÆs the second team heÆs taken into residency in Bradenton, Fla., and word is it could be stronger than the last group ù the Landon Donovan bunch ù which finished fourth at the world championship a year ago in New Zealand.
Qualifying is slated for April, with the finals, in Trinidad & Tobago, the last two weeks of September. WeÆll soon know if Ellinger, providing the Americans qualify, will be making the trip.
HeÆs a candidate for the Tampa Bay Mutiny opening, and accepting the job should it be offered might be the most prudent step in furthering his career.
ôYou think of it as the next logical step,ö says Ellinger, who was Tom FitzgeraldÆs assistant with the Columbus Crew in 1996. ôItÆs something youÆd like to hear what they have to say and offer, if it ever comes to that. I definitely enjoy working with U.S. Soccer. The U-17 and Olympic experiences have been the two highlights of my soccer coaching career, no question about that.
ôI think I get the most satisfaction from coaching internationally. ItÆs a great challenge, and I learn a lot from the experience. Hopefully, I can continue to grow in that arena. You never know when itÆs going to continue or when itÆs going to end, as anything, but right now my plans are to continue on with the 17s, get this group qualified and try to surpass that group.ö
Clive Charles, whom Ellinger assisted with the Olympic team that reached the medal round in Sydney in September, says Ellinger can make the jump.
ôHe was my right-hand man ù we couldnÆt have done what we did without him,ö Charles says. ôHeÆs very, very good at his job. ThereÆs got to be an MLS team that would want to hire him.ö
Informed that Ellinger is among the candidates Mutiny GM Bill Manning is considering, Charles blurted: ôTell him [Manning] to hire him [Ellinger].ö
Uh, consider it done.
Manning calls Ellinger ôa very strong candidate, absolutely.ö He studied under Ellinger, among other coaches, to receive his B coaching license several years ago.
ôI thought John and Anson Dorrance, of all the coaches there, I thought they were the two best,ö he said. ôI felt I was really learning. … JohnÆs always stuck in my head ù IÆve followed his career. Teaching players: thatÆs why heÆs done so well.ö
Ellinger is considered a marvelous instructor and tactically savvy, and he enjoys wonderful rapport with his players. The only concern, one he doesnÆt share, is whether he can deal with professional egos. ôThatÆs, to me, just a matter of some sensible player-management skills.ö
OBVIOUS CHOICE. EllingerÆs background, and the gifts he demonstrated as the U.S. national B team coach, as the Region I U-14 coordinator, as head coach at UMBC (1981-1990) and as CharlesÆ assistant, made him an obvious choice to guide the U-17 residency.
ôI think John Ellinger is the perfect person for that group of kids …,ö Arena says. ôOne of his strengths is he was a former teacher. Being involved with kids in that age group on a day-to-day basis, in a residential environment, really requires a coach who understands the educational requirements and concerns of the kids, as well as making the soccer work.ö
Ellinger, who played soccer and wrestled at Frostburg State University, is particularly adept at breaking down concepts for younger players and building them into teams.
ôWhat IÆve tried to do with these two groups of 17s is try to take them through a competitive phase, a learning-to-compete phase,ö he says. ôFrom there, we get into how we want to play ù an attacking style ù and weÆre very demanding on defense, try to minimize mistakes on defense. …
ôWith young players, the biggest thing is getting them to minimize risk in the back. Players are going to make mistakes ù we tell them theyÆre going to make mistakes ù itÆs a matter of where you make them, when you make them, how often you make them that determines how far youÆll progress.ö
NO HURRY. He figures to get the opportunity to guide an MLS team ù if not the Mutiny, then someone else ù sometime in the not-too-distant future. ItÆs a step heÆll have to take at some point.
Interviewing for the Tampa Bay job, he said, was ôa good experience for me, to just kind of get a feel for where the leagueÆs going, where the teamÆs going, to find out their thoughts on the roster of players. ItÆs all interesting. Then again, I think the last thing I said was that I enjoy what IÆm doing and [at some point] IÆd like to get to MLS, but IÆm in no hurry.ö
by Soccer America senior editor Scott French