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Behind the Stripes

Stephen Glass

By Atlanta United FC

February 26^th, 2019

From small towns in Argentina to the Atlanta suburbs and everywhere in between, the past few years have proven that the paths to Atlanta United are as diverse as the city itself. This story starts on an early morning in Scotland, where a kid that would come to be known as Glassy is skidding a soccer ball across the morning dew, thumping the beat of a ball being kicked into a backyard fence for hours on end. It was a passion driven by a dream of being a professional player, with each kick bringing Stephen Glass closer to his goal.

“It was just natural for people back home to want to become a footballer,” he says. “So I’d go watch my brother play, but I wouldn’t actually watch, I’d be kicking a ball around on the side. Then every day I’d be in the garden kicking it, out in the road, kicking it against a fence. I grew up with a ball at my foot.”

Those sessions in the back yard paid off, with Glass signing his first professional contract with Scottish giants Aberdeen at the age of 16. It was a massive moment in his life, but he didn’t stop to reminisce. For Glass, it was just the start of the work.

“You’re one of the best players in your area, then you come to the club and it’s full of people who were the best players in their area,” he says. “So you get thrown into this big melting pot of kids hoping to make a career, and there just aren’t enough spaces for everyone to make it. There’s a little fortune that goes into it, but if you don’t have the burning desire to do it, it’s not going to happen.”

That work ethic is something that defined a playing career that took him to the Premier League, an FA Cup final, and beyond. He never had a “I made it” moment – just a series of goals, and when he accomplished one, there was another benchmark looming down the road.

“I was 18 when I made my professional debut for Aberdeen. But then you achieve that and you say can I get to 5 games, 10 games, 30 games –– can I win a cup for this club? There’s always something next. There was so much competition, you had to prove that you deserved your spot. Once you earned it, you had to prove you should keep it, and if you couldn’t, you had to leave. So there was never a moment where I ‘made it,’ because it felt like I was fighting to make it throughout my entire career.”

That drive defined him as a player, and then as a coach. When he finally hung up his cleats – “I wanted to keep playing but my body said no way,” he laughs – it wasn’t the end of anything. It was just another set of goals now lined up in front of him to achieve.

“I finished up my last year as a player with the Carolina Railhawks, now called NCFC, in the second division in America. I started coaching with a local youth club in North Carolina, Triangle Football Club. It was the first time I had my hands on the team myself. It was a U-15/U-16 club, but I got to really mold them. They started playing the right way, and I got to impact their lives a little, and I really enjoyed it.”

Molding young players was a rewarding prospect for a man who wanted to put back into the game all he’d gotten out of it. But he knew he could contribute at a higher level. So he achieved his next goal of coaching with a professional club – and that started with a position with the Atlanta United U-17 Academy Team.

“I had to decide if I would become a youth coach my whole life, would I go home, or would I give it a real go to become a professional coach? I’m grateful to Tony Annan for the opportunity, to come into the academy and back me and my ideas and allow me the freedom to do what I thought I could do, and to grow and almost fall in love with the game all over again.”

After a successful year with the Academy, he gets a shot head coaching at the professional level. But once again, there’s no “I made it” moment for Stephen Glass, just another opportunity.

“It’s full circle. Growing up as a player, my thought was always ‘how can I affect the first team?’ Then I became a coach in the academy, how can I push players and develop them into first-team players. Now I’m in a role that’s closer, can I affect the first team again? It’s just another benchmark.”

In ATL UTD 2, Glass has found a mix of all of his skillsets and passions: a focus on youth development, with the added stakes of professional matches. And he says that time with the Academy teams will serve him well as he acts as the bridge between the youth players and the first team.

“I know the players really well,” he says. “But more importantly those players know that I know them really well. They know that I know what they can do. They also know what I ask of my players and how I want to see them play and continue to develop. The dreams become more real for them, because it’s a familiar face. They think ‘I played with Glassy before, I can do it again.’”

But more than anything he wants to instill that same drive that served as the guiding force throughout his career as a player and coach.

“The biggest danger for young players is to get to a club and think that’s it. So here, it’s not ‘I’m wearing the kit, I train at our Training Ground, I’m a player now.’ – well are you? Can you affect first-team games? Can you be Michael Parkhurst who played every minute of every game? That’s a first-team player, it’s not just about being there. That was my mentality then, that’s my mentality now, and that’s my job to make sure I’m instilling that in our young players.”

And now, just weeks before his first match in charge as a head coach, he sees yet another challenge in his path. For a USL side, a good season isn’t just about wins and losses. It’s developing young players, energizing veterans, and building a crucial part of the “two teams, one club” mentality.

“I think if we can create an environment that’s enjoyable for the players, that’s a good learning experience and gives every player that comes into it what they want, then that’s success. What an academy player wants is different than what a USL player wants which is different than what a first-team players wants. That’s my challenge: how do I make sure they’re all getting what they want from this? And hopefully, how do I get them on a field together as a group that looks like Atlanta United when we play on a weekend night? My job is to make everyone as good as they can be. I’ve got the freedom, the backing, and the environment to do it, now it’s just up to me to be successful.”

It’s a tough test for the most experienced coaches. But if Glass’s track record of overcoming challenges is anything to go by, soccer fans can rest assured ATL UTD 2 is in good hands.

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