Managing time tests Rising FC’s young assistants
Tuesday training sessions with Phoenix Rising FC aren’t like any other day. That’s because each day is never the same, keeping Rising assistant coaches Blair Gavin and Peter Ramage constantly on their toes, on and off the pitch.
The two often lead practice either as a pair, or individually, forging strategies that require hours of preparation and collectively lead to Rising FC’s approach on game day. This roughly one-year-old role for both soccer coaches has changed their personal lifestyles, testing their time-management skills.
On a mid-July morning, Ramage paced off the field after leading the players through a tactic-heavy training session. He’s got to race to Sky Harbor Airport, where his wife, Tanisha, and two daughters have just
flown in from their native England following a summer vacation.
Within minutes, Ramage must switch from an assertive and authoritative coach to a loving and kind-hearted family man.
But before Ramage could exit through the team facility doors, his phone rings.
“That’s Blair (Gavin),” he said with a smile. “He’s probably calling about the next session.”
Although this balancing skill is common among the staff, it’s relatively new for Ramage. Since joining the coaching staff in August last season, Ramage has learned how to produce at a high level, just as he did as a player in the English Premier League. But what has become Ramage’s toughest challenge as a coach stems from something off the field.
“(My family) just landed five, or 10 minutes ago from the U.K. and I have to leave here and make time for them,” Ramage said. “I’ve got to be Dad, I’ve got to be a husband. And I just have to be ordinary Peter Ramage and not the firstteam assistant coach. But it’s strange, because (coaching) is always in the back of my mind.”
That day, Gavin had buzzed in from Los Angeles, where he was studying new training ideas and strategies used at Los Angeles Football Club, playing its second season in Major League Soccer and coached by former U.S. national team manager Bob Bradley.
Like Ramage, Gavin’s love for the game spills into his personal life. His attention to film study, team tactics and player development occasionally oozes into his time at home. After beginning his coaching career with Rising FC for the 2018 season, Gavin was forced to create a system, divvying up his time in blocks — multiple sections created for Rising and the rest to spend with his wife, Jane, and his 11-month-old daughter, Declan.
Gavin leaves his home in Scottsdale at 7 a.m. on training days. After practice, film sessions and meetings, he returns around 4:30 p.m. Then, Gavin has until 7 p.m. to enjoy time with family before Declan is put to sleep. A late-night “power shift” ensues in preparation for the next practice or game. Occasionally, that shift becomes more than expected.
“Sometimes, you just have to shut (down) your computer,” Gavin said. “Time is a resource that gets away from you. So, my system is set up to say, ‘OK, this is when it’s done.’ For the most part, that system works pretty well and protects me from the amount of work that I could do.”
Joining the technical staff during the same season created a similar path for
“It’s strange, because (coaching) is always in the back of my mind.”
Phoenix Rising FC assistant coach
Gavin and Ramage. On the field, they’re each other’s closest critics, constantly recommending ways to improve how training is put together. Off the field, the two former defenders also have an understanding as it pertains to time away from the game.
For Gavin, it’s molding who he wants to be as a coach as well as how he wants to lead his newly formed family. And for Ramage, the coaching challenge remains the same, while he manages keeping his immediate family connected with a distance of some 5,000 miles away in Newcastle.
“We both watch a lot of opponents’ film. At times, the little work that takes up a lot of time is putting those videos together,” Gavin said. “I’ll tell (Ramage) to send me the clips and I’ll put everything together. If something happens (with family), we can always balance each other out.”
Ramage said that every day is a “learning day” and he’s now realized how each moment spent as a coach can affect the team, crediting his former coaches for their advice. For Gavin, he sees time differently than he did as a player.
“I feel like I wasted a lot of time, that’s for sure,” Gavin said, jokingly. “I’d like to have it back, but you learn from those moments. If not, who’s to say that I would have been where I’m at today?” your online subscription. Start