Amid virus pandemic, Ramos using personal touch
Abruptly, the world changed. And with people unsure of the nature or consequences of those changes, a sense of anxiety and uncertainty gripped the country.
While that might describe the novel coronavirus pandemic, it also depicts the United States after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the last time current Major League Soccer coaches saw something upend their league and the country so dramatically.
“9/11 for me hit hard because I grew up right across from New York City,” new Dynamo coach Tab Ramos said. “My whole drive home from practice, I could see the smoke from the World Trade Center.”
In March, MLS suspended its season two games into Ramos’ first year with the Dynamo. He has had to navigate the ensuing three months with limited access to his players, staff and family, whose plans to move from New Jersey were halted in response to COVID-19.
When Houston (0-1-1, 1 point) last played, it lost 4-0 to Sporting Kansas City. Between then and the start of the MLS is Back Tournament that begins next month, Houston would have had 18 games to improve on the loss. Instead, coaches were forced out of their usual cycle of game preparation and review.
But to some extent, Ramos was prepared for the disruption. He also has found ample opportunity in his ever-changing new normal.
“This stoppage has been a lot longer than the offseason for our team or any team, so we’re all starting over,” Ramos said. “Unfortunately,
over the last three months, we’ve had to live with our last results, and that’s difficult. But at the same time … you can learn a lot from a loss.”
The former United States U-20 coach communicated with a partially remote staff before taking the Dynamo job in October. In his former job, he typically saw his players for up to two weeks at a time every few months.
In Houston, he has used the hiatus to commit to understanding his players.
Ramos learned about where they came from and what it took for them to become professional athletes. He learned who is introverted and who prefers a gentler approach to criticism.
He rotated between tactics and team-building activities week-toweek to keep players engaged.
Sometimes he asked them to tell their personal stories. On another occasion, he asked them to describe their ideal style of play if they coached the Dynamo.
“To get to know the people that the players are, that’s usually a disadvantage that any coach has when they switch positions and go from, say, one club to another,” he said. “Personally, I know them a lot better, and I think that there’s no question that that’s a huge help for a new coach.”
Ramos has more than a decade of international coaching experience, but Dynamo assistant Pablo Mastroeni, a former Colorado Rapids head coach, has smoothed his transition to coaching an MLS team. The two go back decades, including the last time they felt everyday life was disrupted by something that transcends sports.
When they were players, Mastroeni’s Miami Fusion team was preparing to leave to play Ramos and the MetroStars when the first plane struck the World Trade Center in 2001. In the aftermath, MLS canceled the remainder of its regular season. Mastroeni felt an existential fear for his family and his personal safety that has reemerged today.
“I remember not (initially) understanding the enormity of the situation,” he said. “In a similar situation to now, I remember thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think this is safe for us to go,’ and thinking that I wouldn’t have a choice.”
Another of Ramos’ longtime colleagues, Los Angeles FC coach Bob Bradley, coached the Chicago Fire in 2001. A decade later, he started coaching the Egyptian national team several months after Arab Spring and the Egyptian revolution began.
To navigate the moment, Bradley emphasized understanding and unity.
He stayed in Egypt after more than 70 people killed in the Port Said Stadium riot, leading to the suspension of the country’s domestic league, marched with Egyptians in the streets and prioritized discussions about what was happening in the country.
“In order to grow as a group, there’s got to be a real connection with each guy,” Bradley said. “We used to talk always that at a time when Egypt was divided, we wanted to be an example of what it meant to be united. But all of those things start with trying to know each guy.”
When Ramos reflects on how his former coach handled the Sept. 11 attacks — by canceling practice and creating space for players to express what they were experiencing — he sees parallels between him and Bradley.
“You get through this by speaking with players and getting to know who they are and how they react to these things,” Ramos said. “We’ve been able to do a lot over the last few months, so that’s been a big advantage.”