When you were hired there were two players on the roster.  What is your process and what do you look for when building your team?

Well, I have a style and a vision of what I want this team to do on the field and we are fortunate enough to have been offered a great amount of talent and we are signing players that fit into our plans. We have a solid core of players coming back, we are bringing a great mix of young and experienced players, and most importantly we are bringing players that give us versatility and depth.

From the player announcements, a lot of the guys that are signing have won championships at other clubs, is that something that you are looking for?

Absolutely, I think it is very important to have players that have been there (in the final games of tournaments or cups) before to help strengthen the locker room and act as leaders to those with less experience. Unfortunately, the RailHawks had great season these last two years and weren’t able to win the championship. Winning is our goal, we want to have a great season but also be able to win the finals. Most people can’t tell you the regular season champions or the team that lost the final for the last 6 years, but everyone knows the champions, so finishing strong is an important thing for us.

Talking about the NASL, are you looking at what the other teams are doing?

I have seen some of the releases and announcements but to be honest, I’m focusing on our team and building the best team we can. I have coached at this level for years and I know that the level of play is increasing every season. Three years ago Montreal won the championship being the 6^th seed, we (Puerto Rico) won it as the 8^th seed and Minnesota surprised everyone this past season as the 6^th seed. So we need to be prepared and ready to have tough games all season long.

What can the fans expect in terms of tactics and strategy?

I’m not attached to one particular tactic, based on how the team is coming together I believe we will be able to play 4-4-2, 4-1-3-2, 4-3-3. I build our matches around the players. We will also have a deep roster, having impact players on the bench that will be able to come in and change the game. As far as games go, we will hopefully be able to get on the scoreboard early and keep on pressuring them, forcing mistakes, and being able to score a few more goals. We have guys like Garey, Zimmerman, Shipalane, Palacio, and others that we are working to sign soon that like to score and have proven to be scorers.  However, I know very well some games are ugly and the key is to have a solid defense to be able to win with the minimum difference and we are certainly building that with Kupono, Cory, Chris Nurse, and now Gale.

You have a reputation of being very loud and vocal at games…

I have been told that I have gotten better over the last few years. You know what, transitioning from player to coach is tough, I want to be able to jump on the pitch and help the team out, lead by example. I am a coach that likes to be close to the players, talking to them pointing out when they do something right and also making sure they are aware when something needs to be corrected soon.

What is the one thing your teams always have?

I look for one thing and that is to play as a team. I want everyone to be willing to do everything in his power to help a teammate on the pitch. We start working on creating this trust and bond between the players. I am looking for the experienced guys to lead by example, but everyone must make that commitment.

Any particular games you are looking forward to?

All the games have something special about them. When we go on the road, all the teams will be tough and every stadium presents its own challenge. I’m looking forward to going back to Puerto Rico. I have great memories of my years there, the atmosphere is always great and it will be interesting to go back. I don’t know what to expect, I know the fans respect me and appreciate the championships that we won together but I don’t know if they will applaud or boo, anyways, we hope we can turn it to fuel for our team.

Several local and young players are likely to come on board soon, is it an important aspect of your team building?

Absolutely, we have a huge advantage being in the Triangle because we have a lot of youth clubs producing great talent and then we have arguably some of the best universities locally, so we have players that relocated here for school and want to play here or players that went elsewhere but call the Triangle home.  So we have a great opportunity to bring local players that can contribute tremendously to the team.

Having Dewan Bader as your assistant coach certainly helps!

Dewan is great, and I’m lucky to be working with him. He knows everyone and he is very admired and respected. He did a great job with the U-23 program and several of those players will be coming on board for us. We both are working hard on identifying talent and creating mechanisms to track their progress and help develop players.

Finally, what would you like to tell all the RailHawks fans?

I want to stress the importance of having everyone come out to all of our games and being that twelfth man for us. It is extremely important to have fans cheering on and igniting the players, it helps them accomplish the goals we set forth.

Anything else?

Yes, we will make an effort (players and staff) to be out in the community more and we hope to interact with fans at events, camps, and other social gatherings. I’m looking forward to meeting fans and having the players and coaching staff helping local teams and players through camps.