The Washington Post’s Steven Goff profiles the long and winding road taken by Denis Hamlett to become Head Coach of the Chicago Fire. Hamlett came to the U.S. from Costa Rica when he was just 10, eventually moving to the D.C. Metro area. Hamlett played college soccer at George Mason University. After college, he spent several years playing semipro and indoor soccer until in 1996 he was selected as the 12th overall draft pick by the Colorado Rapids in the inaugural MLS draft. Hamlett played all but one of the Rapids’ opening season matches.
While preparing for the 1997 season, Hamlett suffered a stroke. After a training session, he woke up with what he called a “massive headache. … I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sign my name.” He was 28 at the time. Hamlett had a rare heart condition, but even though doctors later told him that the chances of a stroke recurring were slim, he decided to retire. “I thought about it: ‘Is it really worth it?’ ” he said. “I went back to Denver to see how it would feel being around the team. Something was gone. I had played all my life, but I didn’t have that drive, that intensity anymore.”
Still on the league’s payroll, Hamlett was reassigned to scouting for a team (the Chicago Fire) that would not play until the following season. He has been there ever since. In fact, Hamlett is the longest serving assistant coach in league history, having been with the Fire since 1998. He became head coach when Juan Carlos Osorio left for the New York Red Bulls. Hamlett’s Fire is 4-1-1 in his first season. It plays D.C. United at RFK tonight. (ESPN 2: 7:30 PM EST).