San Diego Surf SC’s Ryan Guy Brings Guam to Second Straight Victory
Soccer News: Ryan Guy is a homegrown San Diego soccer player success story. A world citizen, Guy has traveled the globe playing soccer for St. Patrick’s Athletic FC in Ireland, MLS’ New England Revolution, NASL’s San Antonio Scorpions, NPSL’s San Diego Flash and the GUAM National Team. While Guy recently hung up his pro cleats and joined San Diego Surf Soccer Club as the Asst. Director of the USSF Development Academy, Guy still plays professionally for the Guam National Team.
Amidst a lot of hype and excitement – including media coverage from the Wall Street Journal and TIME, the Guam National Team is on the road to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. For any nation, especially one as tiny as the United States territory of Guam — an island in the Pacific with approximately 165,000 inhabitants — this is big news.
Guy’s impact in the World Cup qualifier was clear in the first 14 minutes of the Guam vs. Turkmenistan match. The Guam National team, also known as the Matao, enjoyed a 1-0 win. Guam’s second match against India, a country with a population of 1.25 billion, ended in a 2-1 victory for Guam.
“To get the win (against India) was really a memorable, historic event for the people of Guam,” Gary White, Guam’s coach since 2012 said to FIFA.com.
“Ryan Guy’s professional approach to the game combined with his knowledge and experience has been a major reason for our recent success at the FIFA international level,” White said to SoccerToday. “The great thing – for myself and the country of Guam – is that he gets better and more impactful each and every game he plays. Guy was one of the first U.S. based Guamanian players that I recruited to play for the Matao, he is an integral part of our team.”
What will happen come the end of March 2016 when the second round of Asian qualifying concludes? No one knows but one thing is for certain, Cal South raised Guy has led his team this far and hopefully can take them all the way.
The second round for Guam’s Group D takes place on September 8th, 2015 against the monarchy of Oman, a country in the Arabian Peninsula next to Saudia Arabia.
“We are very proud to have Ryan Guy at Surf SC. It’s great to have a coach on our youth club staff still competing in World Cup qualifiers,” said Colin Chesters, Director of Coaching for San Diego Surf Soccer Club. “Playing professional for Guam keeps his ideas focused on a player perspective not just a coach’s — which I feel is important when coaching.”
“Coaches often watch a player and think ‘Why didn’t you do X and Y?'” said Chesters. “The players perspective can be as simple as ‘Because I’m playing against a high level opponent who is determined not to let me do X and Y.’ It is important as a coach to ask yourself, ‘How many games have you played when you controlled every pass and made every correct decision and executed the play in possession?’ Players are more in tune with the fact soccer is an imperfect game played and coached by imperfect people.”
SoccerToday caught up with Ryan Guy to find out what it was like playing professionally for Guam in the recent World Cup Qualifiers and here is what he said:
Diane Scavuzzo: How does it feel to be a youth soccer coach and professional soccer player at the same time?
Ryan Guy: Seeing a team fulfill it’s potential is always exciting. Whether I’m playing or coaching — there is a rush that accompanies a good win.
Playing with Guam in the recent WC Qualifying games refreshed my perspective as a player. This past year I’ve been coaching just about every day of the week and when that happens, it’s easy to lose the mentality of a player; the worries, the wants, the things that excite.
As a coach, I find it very important to have a good understanding of the player’s perspective. I know that if I can embrace them and use them to help bring out the very best in each individual on the team, that’s a winning formula. A formula that can make an average team good, and a good team, great. This is a unique advantage that coaches, who also happen to be playing professionally, can take advantage of.
However, there is certainly no guarantee that a good player makes a good coach.
Just like playing, it takes time to learn the craft of coaching, and for me, getting the chance to play and train under a high quality professional coach like Gary White is comparable to taking a high level coaching education course.
Every time I travel with the Guam team I feel like I’m taking a Master’s Degree in soccer. I’m learning about how the game is played in the different cultures we visit, experiencing the style and methods of a high class coach, and practicing the technical aspects of playing the sports. It’s really the best of all worlds, and I can’t wait for the next games in September.
Diane Scavuzzo: How do you deal with the pressure of playing for your national team?
Ryan Guy: Years ago, when I was just starting out in my professional career, I identified the fears that I had while on the field.
I had a fear that I was going to lose the ball because I was insecure with my first touch, so I developed my first touch through extra training until I no longer had to think, or worry about it.
I also found that I had a fear of people judging me negatively, based on my play. Another insecurity. This one was a bit more difficult to get rid of. I now have a routine of prayer and meditation that helps me to focus myself physically, and mentally prepare for high pressure on-field situations. Suffice it to say, I ended up finding Jesus, becoming a Christian and learning about principles like humility and prayer.
Diane Scavuzzo: Just curious, how difficult is it to sleep when traveling?
Ryan Guy: On trips, we typically do a three or four day camp before the official games with double sessions each day. At night, I usually go to sleep around 10:30 and get up at 8:00. Many times however, jet lag gets in the way and I find myself wide awake at 4 AM in the morning. Naps become crucial when that is the case, in between double sessions, an hour or two nap can be the difference between being fresh and getting injured.
Diane Scavuzzo: Tell us about the Guam National team – what is the age range of the players?
Ryan Guy: The youngest on the team was 17, just turned 18. I am 29. The oldest player is 32. The age gap is relatively large. We all understand that there are players that are in different parts of their lives, and the fact that we are all playing for the same reason, national pride, gives us something that we can all find common ground with.
Team building exercises are fun though, we found out on our last trip that a couple of players had never watched a VHS tape. That definitely dated us older guys.
Culture Coach International
Here is a look at the Guam’s starting line-up vs India:
GOALKEEPER
Doug Herrick
Hometown: Seattle, College: Saint Mary’s (CA), Clubs: Sounders U-23s, Charlotte Eagles (USL).
DEFENDERS
Brandon McDonald
Hometown: Glendale (AZ), College: University of San Francisco, Clubs: LA Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes, D.C. United, Real Salt Lake, Ljungskile in Sweden
A.J. DeLaGarza
Hometown: Bryans Road (MD), College: University of Maryland, Clubs: LA Galaxy
Alex Lee
Hometown: Rockville (MD), College: University of Maryland, Clubs: FC Dallas, Richmond Kickers (USL)
Mason Grimes
Hometown: Castro Valley (CA), College: Cal State San Marcos, Clubs: Tulsa Roughnecks (USL)
MIDFIELDERS
Shawn Nicklaw
Hometown: San Diego, College: University of Connecticut, Clubs: Jacksonville Armada (NASL)
Ryan Guy
Hometown: Carlsbad (CA), College: University of San Diego, Clubs: New England Revolution, San Antonio Scorpions (NASL)
Jason Cunliffe
Hometown: Guam, College: Santa Clara University
Travis Nicklaw
Hometown: San Diego, College: San Diego State
FORWARDS
John Matkin
Hometown: San Diego, College: University of San Diego
Shane Malcolm
Hometown: Sunrise (FL), College: High Point University
Follow along with Guy and the Guam National Team on Twitter and Facebook.
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