Speaker 1: Welcome to another soccer down here, one v one For
Speaker 1: this one, we head back to Jack's. I was almost
Speaker 1: a poet and didn't know it because and I don't know, Stacy,
Speaker 1: if folks warned you about my studio space.
Speaker 2: They did. And I'm really happy to see our scarf
Speaker 2: in the background then amongst all the others.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and there's like two hundred or something scarves, and
Speaker 1: everything's had to be reinforced by the way shower, the
Speaker 1: multiple rack shower rods. Those have become the saving grace
Speaker 1: for all of these. But yes, we are not here
Speaker 1: to talk shower rods and scarves. We're here to talk
Speaker 1: about one scarf in particular because Sporting Jacks is named
Speaker 1: Stacy Belong, their first head coach of the US Super
Speaker 1: League women's side. Congratulations, Has it been the whirlwind you anticipated?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was quite overwhelming. Actually, just the attention that
Speaker 2: you know, the club's been receiving and all of the
Speaker 2: messages and calls and social media and text that I've
Speaker 2: got since the announcement has been really really overwhelming, but
Speaker 2: really exciting at the same time.
Speaker 1: So your phone has officially blown up, as the kids.
Speaker 2: Say, yes, yes it has, and feel very humbled, but
Speaker 2: a lot of people, you know, they show an interest
Speaker 2: in soccer, and obviously they know that that's my identity,
Speaker 2: that's what I love doing, and they're really proud and
Speaker 2: really excited for what's to come.
Speaker 1: Associate head coach at Vanderbilt before you come down there
Speaker 1: to Jacksonville, so you know about it just means more
Speaker 1: in this particular footprint. The first question that I like
Speaker 1: to ask coaches when they step into a new position
Speaker 1: is why now? And so I guess it's two parts.
Speaker 1: Why and why now? Go from Vanderbilt to be a
Speaker 1: head coach in the US in the USL, in the
Speaker 1: division one super.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a great question. I mean, every coach wants,
Speaker 2: you know, to continue to professionally grow, They want to
Speaker 2: continue to elevate their career, and they want to take
Speaker 2: chances when they come available. And not that I was
Speaker 2: expecting it, but after conversations with Mark Orbiton and just
Speaker 2: learning a lot about what this club has to offer
Speaker 2: and what its ambition is and what its vision is,
Speaker 2: it really excited me. And although I was, you know,
Speaker 2: really really happy where I was at Vanderbilt, it was
Speaker 2: it was just a dream come true and it was
Speaker 2: just something that I wasn't expecting, and I felt like,
Speaker 2: you know, I, you know, I just wanted to be
Speaker 2: a part of that ambition and that vision of the
Speaker 2: of the Jacksonville team.
Speaker 1: How much staring in the mirror and alone time and
Speaker 1: staring out into vistas and looking out over the Tennessee
Speaker 1: River did you take before you made this decision?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean you obviously could relate here because I
Speaker 2: just was. It was one of those where you know,
Speaker 2: you'll be really really sad to leave what you have,
Speaker 2: and it's the fear of the unknown as well, but
Speaker 2: then there's that level of excitement of what could come
Speaker 2: and what the future looks like. So there was a
Speaker 2: lot of decisions I had to make in my head
Speaker 2: and whether it was going to be the right decision.
Speaker 2: But I don't regret that decision for one minute. I
Speaker 2: think this is going to be a really exciting future
Speaker 2: for not only myself, but for the community of Jacksonville
Speaker 2: and the club itself.
Speaker 1: Stuff you know about in the Southeastern Conference, it doesn't
Speaker 1: matter what sport we're talking about, but it's always crudencies
Speaker 1: and that is the official spelling of it. Cr O
Speaker 1: T I N apostrophe, it's crudencies and a lot of others.
Speaker 1: Folks will sit there and say, yes, it's recruiting and
Speaker 1: all this kind of stuff. It's cruting down here in
Speaker 1: the South. What you know, obviously it had to have
Speaker 1: been humbling to have been cruited yourself. But now the
Speaker 1: process starts for you about your crut and what you've
Speaker 1: got to do to assemble this squad. What's what's in
Speaker 1: your mind when it comes to assembling what you and
Speaker 1: Mark and everybody there want to put together at Sporting Jacks.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I've been really fortunate to have Mark by my
Speaker 2: side within this process. I mean, he he's been getting
Speaker 2: after it from the moment that you know, he was announced,
Speaker 2: and so we've been working together as well as Becky Burley.
Speaker 2: She's a good resource to have obviously, you know, a
Speaker 2: legend in the state of Florida, very well known, very
Speaker 2: well connected. So between all three of us, we've been
Speaker 2: trying to, you know, make connections and talk to agents. Obviously,
Speaker 2: I'm very familiar with a lot of the the players
Speaker 2: within the US just being familiar with the college system.
Speaker 2: So is Becky and and so you know, we feel
Speaker 2: like we're building something, and we're really excited. We've already
Speaker 2: got some players signed, especially here in the US, and
Speaker 2: then some from overseas, so we're starting to put it
Speaker 2: together and it's starting to really come along now.
Speaker 1: And you've spent time here in the Southeast outside of Vandy.
Speaker 1: You were up in one of the I think one
Speaker 1: of the underreported and underrated hot beds of the sport
Speaker 1: up when you were spending time at the University of
Speaker 1: North Georgia. Then you get to go out to West
Speaker 1: Georgia and Carrollton, so you've seen the sport grow in
Speaker 1: the Southeast, and I think that I'm hoping I'm not
Speaker 1: spilling any intel here, but I think that you probably
Speaker 1: are in a position better served where you can go
Speaker 1: to a Gainsville and you know what you're looking for.
Speaker 1: You can go to West Georgia, and I mean that
Speaker 1: in West Georgia, not just the University of West Georgia,
Speaker 1: but you know those pockets where there is talent that
Speaker 1: might be overlooked or underappreciated to help build this process.
Speaker 1: I think that might be a built in advantage for you.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, John. The market is great there in Atlanta.
Speaker 2: I mean there is a large pool of players. There's
Speaker 2: some really top high level clubs within that state. And
Speaker 2: I did a lot of my recruiting during my time
Speaker 2: when I lived there for about twelve years, so I
Speaker 2: became very familiar with that particular area of the city,
Speaker 2: north and west and south, and so it was you know,
Speaker 2: with the amount of connections that I built there and
Speaker 2: network networking that I did with the club coaches, I
Speaker 2: can see obviously there's a lot of talent coming out
Speaker 2: of the state, and yeah, it was very, very fruitful
Speaker 2: for me when I was recruiting there for the colleges
Speaker 2: that I worked for.
Speaker 1: How would you describe yourself as a coach, whether it's demeanor, philosophy,
Speaker 1: What are folks getting into when they see when they
Speaker 1: see you on the touch line there for sporting jacks,
Speaker 1: who are they getting as an individual on and off
Speaker 1: the field.
Speaker 2: Well, I think immediately they probably would sense my passion
Speaker 2: for the game. You know, I've lived and breathed the
Speaker 2: sport all my life, and so I have such an
Speaker 2: investment in it borderline consumes me at times, but you know,
Speaker 2: it is my passion and it is what I do.
Speaker 2: It's my livelihood. So I think that's the first thing
Speaker 2: that they would see. I'm an energetic person on the field,
Speaker 2: intense competitive, but I'm also compassionate at the same time,
Speaker 2: and I know that I can relate to players very well.
Speaker 2: I did actually try and prolong my playing career as
Speaker 2: long as I could, and I think what helped me
Speaker 2: was becoming a little bit more understanding of players needs
Speaker 2: and whether that's physically or emotionally, just because I was
Speaker 2: going through it as a player but also was coaching
Speaker 2: at the same time. So I think that prolonging my
Speaker 2: career made me a better coach but also helped me
Speaker 2: become a better player. But I think all in all,
Speaker 2: can nexted me with the player's mindset for as long
Speaker 2: as possible, So I understand the compassionate peace too.
Speaker 1: When you look at your CV, it's silverbacks, Mona Valo
Speaker 1: U and GUWG. So you've seen the sport grow in
Speaker 1: the Southeast. What has it been like, say, over the
Speaker 1: last ten years, to see the sport explode to where
Speaker 1: it is where there are opportunities.
Speaker 3: And I'm going to go ahead and use air quotes.
Speaker 1: In the atypical soccer markets where when something happens and
Speaker 1: it explodes, folks on the outside who may not know
Speaker 1: they're shocked, but everybody who's on the inside were like, no,
Speaker 1: we knew this going in. What's it been like for
Speaker 1: you to see the sport grow here in the Southeast
Speaker 1: for the last decade plus.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think it was a matter of time.
Speaker 2: It always had the potential because I mean I think
Speaker 2: the US national team are very proven and they were
Speaker 2: the ones that were, you know, set in the standards
Speaker 2: and be in the model for the rest of the world,
Speaker 2: and so it was a matter of time for the
Speaker 2: sport to continue to evolve and to blow up as
Speaker 2: big as what it is. And now you've got the
Speaker 2: NWSL obviously you know, well established league, and now the
Speaker 2: USL has created more opportunity for women to become professional,
Speaker 2: which is fantastic. So I think just the league itself
Speaker 2: starting up last year is a sign of what's to
Speaker 2: come for the women's game, and I think the future
Speaker 2: looks really promising for women's soccer.
Speaker 1: We all have those to do lists, and I've got
Speaker 1: to do lists all over the place, and you know,
Speaker 1: I have legal pads and calendars and things all over
Speaker 1: the joint. When it comes to your to do list,
Speaker 1: for things that you have to do there at Sporting Jacks.
Speaker 1: Is it on a Google doc, Is it on a spreadsheet,
Speaker 1: is it on a legal pad, is it on a
Speaker 1: binded notebook we had when we were in high school?
Speaker 1: Or is it on one of those big white boards
Speaker 1: that's got the the eraseable you know, you sit there
Speaker 1: and you take your fingers and you can erase it
Speaker 1: and you figure it out that the dry erase boards.
Speaker 1: It's like six feet by eight feet long or something
Speaker 1: like that, hidden after the side. As you and I
Speaker 1: are talking, where is your to do list? A? And
Speaker 1: what do you think the next thing that you can
Speaker 1: cross off of that to do list is as you
Speaker 1: build there at Sporting Jacks.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a great question, John, Well, my to do
Speaker 2: list on a daily basis is a notepad and paper,
Speaker 2: and I feel like it grows quicker than I can
Speaker 2: accomplish things. Yeah. See, I'm old school as well, just
Speaker 2: like you. And if it's there in front of me
Speaker 2: and I can physically cross things off on way to
Speaker 2: do list, I feel like I'm being productive and accomplishing
Speaker 2: what I need to accomplish. When it comes to the team,
Speaker 2: when it comes to you know, building what we're trying
Speaker 2: to build. There's going to be a whiteboard in front
Speaker 2: of me so that I can see those names on
Speaker 2: the board, and I can see positionally where we're at
Speaker 2: and what we need. So I think, like you know,
Speaker 2: in terms of having something visual in front of me,
Speaker 2: is where I tend to navigate towards. But definitely on
Speaker 2: a daily basis, there is a notepad and pen in
Speaker 2: front of me, and like I said, the list does
Speaker 2: grow every day.
Speaker 1: Stacy Belong, the new head coach for the women's division.
Speaker 1: When USL Super League team at Sporting Jacks dropping by
Speaker 1: for a one v one, I know that you are
Speaker 1: looking for a specific kind of individual to come in,
Speaker 1: not just that we'll fit philosophically on the field, but
Speaker 1: philosophically off the field. With what Steve Livingston, the ownership
Speaker 1: grew Mark Warburton and you want to have representing Sporting Jacks.
Speaker 1: What kind of individual are you looking for to make
Speaker 1: sure that when you hit the ground running in the
Speaker 1: community and on the field, that you're hitting it with
Speaker 1: the right notes.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean they're representing something bigger than themselves, right,
Speaker 2: So although they are trying to grow their careers as
Speaker 2: a professal. We're representing sport in Jack's and we're trying
Speaker 2: to be good representatives of the community in Jacksonville and
Speaker 2: be role models to the young young ladies in Jacksonville
Speaker 2: that want to aspire to be like them. I think
Speaker 2: that that's really important because now you know there is
Speaker 2: a platform, there is a pathway from the youth level
Speaker 2: up to the pros. They can come to games, they
Speaker 2: can be a fan, they can have idols on the team,
Speaker 2: they can wear their names on the back of their shirts.
Speaker 2: And to build just that sense of community within Jacksonville
Speaker 2: from this one club, I think is huge. So of
Speaker 2: course they've got to have the talent and the competitiveness,
Speaker 2: and they've got to fit the profile that we need
Speaker 2: in order to be competitive, and they've got to have
Speaker 2: they've got to meet the checklist of you know, tactically,
Speaker 2: they've got to be good. They've got to be technically good.
Speaker 2: They've got to be physically good in order to be
Speaker 2: able to be competitive for the league. But at the
Speaker 2: end of the day, we want them to represent with
Speaker 2: integrity and high character so that they can they can
Speaker 2: represent right in the community.
Speaker 1: What is the most and I don't know I imagine you
Speaker 1: have unlimited international minutes so you can dial back home
Speaker 1: whenever you want. I know that you probably have international
Speaker 1: texting as well, so that you know that your phone
Speaker 1: bill doesn't blow up like mine does.
Speaker 3: I don't know if you use WhatsApp or what have you.
Speaker 1: What's the most random reach the I guess the most
Speaker 1: random reach in that someone has given you since you
Speaker 1: have been named head coach down there. I mean, did
Speaker 1: someone like reach out on what'sapp from like Neptune or something?
Speaker 1: You know, what was the most random person or group
Speaker 1: that reached out to you about Hey, congratulations, I need
Speaker 1: to talk because I've got some players or I'm a
Speaker 1: player and I want to talk.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, there's definitely lots of unknown numbers coming
Speaker 2: up on my phone now that are reaching out, and
Speaker 2: it's mostly agents and companies that are trying to, you know,
Speaker 2: make me more aware and educate me on the play
Speaker 2: that they have. So that's a little bit more of
Speaker 2: what I'm seeing right now. But I know that we're
Speaker 2: getting great visibility from from across across the pond because
Speaker 2: my family have been tuning in. They're learning a lot
Speaker 2: about Sporting Jack's. There's been a lot of Google searches.
Speaker 2: My friends from home, my former teammates that I played with,
Speaker 2: are all across the world, so everybody's kind of now
Speaker 2: I guess a little bit more educated and informed about
Speaker 2: who's Sporting Jack's.
Speaker 1: Are Are there Sporting Jack's flags hanging in Suffolk as
Speaker 1: we speak?
Speaker 2: There will be soon. They they're demanding a T shirt.
Speaker 2: They need some swag apparently, so I guess I've figured
Speaker 2: out my Christmas list.
Speaker 1: Yes, you're going to the store and you're like, Mark,
Speaker 1: I need this and this and this and this and this.
Speaker 1: Now that's how I figured it's going to be. It
Speaker 1: is going to be a sporting swag holiday season, no
Speaker 1: doubt about it.
Speaker 3: When you know, do you even have an office yet?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Actually, Mark took me to an office space, so
Speaker 2: there will be an office for me, and I do
Speaker 2: have a key, so he did as much as cut
Speaker 2: a key for me and show you, show me where
Speaker 2: the office will be. So I did get a brief
Speaker 2: tour of that, which is good. So I understand now
Speaker 2: what I'm looking at and I have a place to
Speaker 2: go to every day when I physically get down there.
Speaker 1: Does your card key work in Mark's office or does
Speaker 1: Marx work in yours or is it just like, no
Speaker 1: your card keys over there, don't don't come into my office.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's I think we have all access
Speaker 2: to everything, so there's no secrets in that office space.
Speaker 1: When when you were taking the tour and when they
Speaker 1: were giving you the grand tour of Jacksonville on the
Speaker 1: vision of everything, I imagine it was a time to
Speaker 1: go over to you and F and look at Hodges
Speaker 1: and then they took you and introduced you to the
Speaker 1: youth side of things.
Speaker 3: What I don't I'm not going.
Speaker 1: To use the word gravity, but just the important and
Speaker 1: said this gig and what it means to be a
Speaker 1: part of building something. What was that tour like for
Speaker 1: you to understand what you were getting into here.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, first of all, we're super appreciative of
Speaker 2: you and F providing their facilities to us. I'm actually
Speaker 2: long term friends with Eric Faulkner, who is the head
Speaker 2: coach there, and I know that he is helping, you know,
Speaker 2: with this whole excitement, enthusiasm and drive behind behind this club,
Speaker 2: and you know right now he can't do enough to
Speaker 2: help us. And you and F have been really welcoming
Speaker 2: and They've shown great hospitality, their field is in great condition.
Speaker 2: It's going to be a great space for our fans
Speaker 2: to come and watch games. And I know that the
Speaker 2: team behind it, the staff, the ticket sales, everybody is
Speaker 2: working really really hard to get this off the ground
Speaker 2: and to really make it a big community thing. And
Speaker 2: I think that partnership with you and F has really helped,
Speaker 2: because you know, it's also bringing in their student body
Speaker 2: and making them more excited and gaining level of interest
Speaker 2: within the game. I mean, we're there in Jacksonville where
Speaker 2: it's a you know, it's been driven by the Jags,
Speaker 2: you know, like that they are a NFL culture in Jacksonville.
Speaker 2: But I think that right now we're getting a lot
Speaker 2: of attention and I think that we're educating people there
Speaker 2: with what's to come, and there's a lot of excitement.
Speaker 2: So even being down there for a few days last week,
Speaker 2: the drivers that were driving me back and forth from
Speaker 2: the airport were really, you know, really interested in hearing
Speaker 2: more about it, and they said that they were to
Speaker 2: come to games. So I think that they're ready for this.
Speaker 2: The community are really excited and thanks to UNF, they
Speaker 2: are going to provide a top notch facility for us
Speaker 2: until we get one of our own.
Speaker 1: Well, And I think to your point, I think that
Speaker 1: here in the Southeastern United States, a lot of folks
Speaker 1: have been able to take that college football mentality and
Speaker 1: the fandom and the fur or that they have for
Speaker 1: their particular teams, and they had now applied it to
Speaker 1: the new franchises in soccer in their markets. And you
Speaker 1: see it basically is a college football fan vibe that
Speaker 1: is translating to those who are being introduced to the
Speaker 1: sport for the first time. And I mean you look
Speaker 1: at you look at markets like Nashville and Atlanta and
Speaker 1: Charlotte and you know in Birmingham and you know, Statesboro
Speaker 1: and whomever. But they're translating that college football noess and
Speaker 1: turning it into college they're turning it into professional football
Speaker 1: if you TBOL, and you're seeing just that energy that's
Speaker 1: there from the college football fan coming forward in the Southeast.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely. I mean you take Steve Livingstone for example.
Speaker 2: I mean, he works in the NFL and that he
Speaker 2: is a you know, a lifetime fan of Celtic back home,
Speaker 2: and so you know he's working in the football franchise,
Speaker 2: but big fan of soccer and so still tuning in
Speaker 2: to the results back home and watching games, you know,
Speaker 2: the Celtic games, and feeling the rivalry between them and Rangers.
Speaker 2: And so when you take someone like that, you know
Speaker 2: he has a passion for both both sports. But I
Speaker 2: think it's always been within him to try and get
Speaker 2: a soccer team off the ground, and he's accomplishing that
Speaker 2: right now. And he's a brilliant businessman man and a
Speaker 2: really passionate guy. And everybody is grown in the same
Speaker 2: direction as Steve and we're ready to go.
Speaker 1: So have you been in the middle of the Celtic
Speaker 1: and Rangers smack between Steve and Mark yet?
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's been quite a few comments so far, so
Speaker 2: I think that that will continue.
Speaker 1: I just have this vision of you kind of navigating
Speaker 1: and referring between old firm days and things like that.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, no, they've they've definitely shared their opinions on it.
Speaker 2: But it's good, Banter, It's really good. I mean you
Speaker 2: can just just feel that rivalry just between the two
Speaker 2: of them. But but now it's great, Benter.
Speaker 3: What's next for you on the list? What's next on
Speaker 3: the legal pad?
Speaker 2: Well, I have to sell a house, buy a house locate.
Speaker 2: But but yeah, all of the big things in between
Speaker 2: that I am going back to see family and also
Speaker 2: deliver some Sporting Jack's goods to them so that they
Speaker 2: can represent in England and put us on the map
Speaker 2: over there. But when I get, you know, get into
Speaker 2: Jacksonville physically and permanently. You know, we've got the w
Speaker 2: League team that's going to be playing in the summer,
Speaker 2: so I'll definitely be present for that. But we've got
Speaker 2: to we're to get prepared for July one, which is
Speaker 2: when we start pre season. So we're still obviously putting
Speaker 2: the team together and signing players and talking to players
Speaker 2: on zoom calls and talking with agents and doing our
Speaker 2: due diligence there. But you know, it's a daily grinds John,
Speaker 2: and we're ready. We're trying to get prepared and be
Speaker 2: ready to make a statement in this.
Speaker 3: Season, looking forward to it.
Speaker 1: The new head coach for the division when USL Super
Speaker 1: League team and Jacksonville at Sporting Jack Stacey Belome Stacey,
Speaker 1: thanks for dropping by.
Speaker 3: Don't be a stranger.
Speaker 1: You know that the carpet is yours and the our
Speaker 1: card keys work anytime, so you can come in and
Speaker 1: crash and let us know what's going on down there
Speaker 1: at Sporting Jacks. Thanks for dropping by for a one
Speaker 1: B one.
Speaker 2: Thanks John, I hope to see you at some games
Speaker 2: this season.
Speaker 3: You got it.