??Chicago Fire Legend continues to ignite the passion of pro players and upcoming youth

Interview by Alexis Catt

Chicago Fire's Ring of Fire member CJ Brown has come full circle.

And he's going back around again.

The Bay Area native found his pathway to the pros by taking the long way, but the tenacity and determination he showed created a stalwart in Chicago's back line and a positive figure on several MLS clubs' coaching staff. Not to mention highly regarded from the players he played with and coached. Going back to the beginning where he first fell in love with soccer, Brown has created the CJ Brown Foundation to give kids in underserved communities the chance to be part of the beautiful game.

Three takeaways from this interview:

• The toughest part once you finally "make it" to the pro level
• The best playing advice he got from coach Bob Bradley that he still uses today as a coach
• What it takes to coach at the highest level

[Bob Bradley] was the first coach to tell me to “play within who you are”. Once you start getting around really talented players, you try to emulate them and sometimes it’s not in your wheelhouse.

As a player:

Tell us about your journey from youth soccer to the MLS.

?? I think I hit all the stages. I played for a parent coach in a rec league. Moved into club soccer, back then it was still parent coaches. I did try out for competitive teams, didn’t make the state team but did make the district team. Then I got into high school. I started playing any way I could, in men’s leagues when school season wasn’t going. Then I went to college. Still tried to make the state team, but didn’t make it until my 3rd year. Eventually played for a few semi-pro teams, and actually played in Open Cup defeating some MLS teams. A few of us were selected into a combine and from there drafted to Chicago Fire and a few stints with the National team. So I literally passed through every step.

Were there any challenges that potentially stopped you from playing?

?? I had two challenges. In high school I got turned down from many colleges, so I didn’t think there were going to be any opportunities for me. Concordia offered a spot but not a full scholarship, so I couldn’t afford it. San Jose State did eventually offer books + tuition so I went there to play. Otherwise not making the state teams was the toughest thing for me. A lot of my teammates, even younger than me, were making it. There was a lot of bitterness there, and it made me feel like I wouldn’t get my opportunity. I had to find a different route.

What was toughest part once you “made it”?

?? The hardest thing is staying there. It’s a lifestyle. Before you get to that point, it’s just fun. It’s a sport, playing with your buddies. Doing what you love to do. Going pro, it still has those moments, but it’s a job. You’re being counted on by your coaches, teammates, supporters and fans. But I will say we didn’t have the same pressures that players do now because of social media. I couldn’t imagine what it’d be like now, from what I know about social media. It’d be a lot harder to play when people have so much access to you. Before the only access was what we personally allowed.

So again the hardest thing is to keep this as your job. Staying fit, focused. Worrying about what you eat, how you sleep. The first few years in the MLS was like college. You made no money so you treated it like a college student. You had roommates, you partied. But now there are millions of dollars in it, big time owners, who are expecting you to perform. So you have to pick and choose the times that you go out and enjoy yourself, and it’s always about taking care of your body and staying sharp in your mind.

How did the pressure differ playing for a domestic club than for your country?

?? Playing for your club, the pressure is localized of who supports you. In Chicago, we have the Chicago fans and supporters, always expecting you to do well for the club. When you go play somewhere else, the opponent's fans dislike you of course. Until you’re on the national team then they have to support you. But if you don’t do well, then they’re quick to say “Well why is he on the National team, we’ve got a better player here at our club.” You’re also playing among the best players in the world, so the stakes are definitely higher.

What is something you learned from a coach that helped you the most as a player?

?? One of my first coaches in club was Italian. He used to show me all of the Italian ways of defending. Even to this day, most people would say when it comes to defending, the Italian style and ways of teaching have produced some of the best defenders. I took a lot from him.

My move to the Fire with Bob Bradley, he was the first coach to tell me to “play within who you are”. Once you start getting around really talented players, you try to emulate them and sometimes it’s not in your wheelhouse. There were moments when I would get on the ball and try to do all of these amazing passes or tricks. Bob would tell me, “You are really good at ‘this,’ you’re a good defender, you’re good at marking. When you do these things, don’t ruin it by trying to do more. Just be who you are. Win those plays, and find the next guy by playing simple.” That was a massive eye-opener for me. I had someone who knew what my strengths were and put me on the field for those strengths. It simplified the game for me.

But the bigger toll was not being able to go into the locker room. That locker room camaraderie, that brotherhood, win lose or draw. It feels really good. You spend more time in the locker room than you do with your own families. So when you leave the locker room for good, you feel like you’re leaving something behind.

As a coach:

What is one thing you learned from a Head Coach that you continue to teach as a coach yourself?

?? That same moment from Bob. I try to speak to players about playing simple and being who they are. I want them to not put so much pressure on themselves and be something that they’re not. That’s a hard, hard thing to get into players. Even back then, we would try to watch games and certain players, seeing what kind of moves they do. We all want to do that, it looks good, they’re making millions of dollars. They don‘t always advertise the players that don’t have the flash. I think their careers would have more longevity if they trusted and played who they are. You may not be that glitz and glamour player, but are in position to get paid and play the game you love. The greatest players come out when they know themselves.

I think that is definitely hard. You spend most of your career idolizing and emulating top players, trying to play like them. And it feels cool if someone compares you to a star player, but we all know that deep inside we want to be recognized for being ourselves. Sometimes we don’t know what it is about us specifically.

When a player is playing over you, you may start to feel that you need to be doing something specific that that player is doing. But it could also mean you’re taking away from what your real game is. Sometimes that’s a coach’s fault because we are saying that’s what we want on the field, over you. But ultimately, you might be in the wrong system, the wrong team. Coaches and players need to identify when that is the case. Some pretty good players end up on bad teams for them, or vice versa, and until you recognize and make that transition, those players might feel like they don’t belong in the game. But that also falls on a lot of people. Agents, sporting directors, coaches, players, money…

What was your transition like going from player to a coach? You had a short turnaround.

?? I retired in 2010, and in 2011 I was an assistant coach in the MLS for Salt Lake City. It was the. hardest. mindset. adjustment. I retired because I physically knew that I didn’t want to compete anymore, my body didn’t want to. I did still have the competitive mindset, but I wasn’t willing to train every day and fight for a spot. If I was tired, I wanted to say I was tired. We also didn’t have any player monitors to show anyone where our body truly was. You had to just compete to be the best. But physically I was done. Mentally, I still wanted to compete, so I went into coaching.

In trainings, when I would jump in sessions I could still hang. I thought, man I can still play with these guys. Which I should, I was just playing against them the last year. That played a role in how tough the transition was. But the bigger toll was not being able to go into the locker room. That locker room camaraderie, that brotherhood, win lose or draw. It feels really good. You spend more time in the locker room than you do with your own families. So when you leave the locker room for good, you feel like you’re leaving something behind. One thing that helped was being on a staff with all former players. We had our own little group that could keep the camaraderie in the office.

When you’re a player, people love you. You get an ego. When you step on the field, people are screaming your name. I can tell you right now, as soon as you become a coach, people don’t know you. You have to be able to manage that. When you win games, it’s the players who won it. When you lose, it’s the coaches who lost it. As a competitor, you hate that feeling. Even as a coach, you don’t always feel as happy about wins because you too feel that the players won. It’s weird not to have the same feeling of winning and losing.

What do you think it takes to coach at the highest level?

?? It takes a lot. I’ll be honest, I used to think we’d have short days. Run a training session, show a video, be out of there by 1pm. When I became a coach, you are arriving at 6am and leaving around 3 or 4pm. And even looking at the best coaches in the MLS, they’re watching tons of different games, styles, leagues. They know every player around the world. They’re always studying. Always coming up with new ways of training, and that’s just scratching the surface of what it takes.

You have to be able to manage the players. In the MLS, you have academy kids, college kids, USL players, US National Team players, international players, international National Team players. It’s such a diverse level of play that you have to join together on one field, under a salary cap. You as a coach have to be able to manage all of that. Here in Chicago, we have young, talented players like Brian Gutierrez we picked up from the academy in our starting lineup. We have Shaqiri who has played on the best teams in the world. Rafa has played in Germany. Players acquired from the USL. It’s a different speed of play, differing levels of technical ability. You really have to do your homework, because not only do you have those diverse player backgrounds, you have the same amount of diverse personalities. You have rookie, eager, young players. And you have some players who have possibly played at higher levels than you did. I think I’ve done well at it, but I have also failed. There are always learning opportunities.

What do you wish you knew sooner as an assistant or head coach?

??The job is all day every day. You don’t really turn off. But I will say, I wish I had concentrated more on the coaching courses. They have evolved big time from when I last took my B course, and now looking at the A. It’s more computer-driven, presentation-focused. The players do like to see the organization. But I wish I had put more time into the courses at a consistent pace instead of waiting in between.

What advice do you have for youth or semi-pro coaches?

?? For all coaches I would say be open minded to learning. Youth coaches specifically, I think you have the biggest impact on these players at a young age. So even more you need to be open minded; not all of your kids will be developed yet. You’re not always responsible for them as great soccer players, but the development of their skills to later become great. There are more social and emotional aspects that we don’t always realize.

For semi-pro, you’re still balancing the social and emotional part of the game, but now you’re wanting to implement your own style. So be organized, be clear, direct, concise. Make sure the players can understand your style, but they also need to know that it’s not the only style. They should be ready to adjust to the next coach or team that could have a different way of playing.

Which assets of your players do you think are most important to affirm and encourage for them to get to next level?

?? Coachability and work ethic. At my level, most of them have the skill level to be where they’re at. But being coachable and having a good work ethic will take them so much further than just talent. Talent gets you there, but work ethic keeps you there.

Since we are on a Messi kick, he obviously is an immense talent, but his work rate has kept him at this level for so many years. Winning trophies. That’s a mindset.

Being coachable is important because every team you play on could be styled differently. They will be. Coaches like to see players who are willing to adapt. Teams thrive off of that. This takes you far in soccer, but also in life.

As an advocate for more youth in soccer:

CJ Brown Foundation

?? The CJ Brown Foundation was thought about 5 or 6 years ago. A couple other former players and myself, we have always wanted to bring soccer to the south side of Chicago. We want to develop the grassroots level of soccer there, and even club soccer. All of the opportunities that they have in the suburbs, I want them in the under-resourced communities. We will provide after-school programs, clinics in the summer, eventually leagues in the neighborhoods, creating a safer and friendly environment through soccer. I think you will see a massive change in these communities when the kids can come together, the families can come together. Bridging the neighborhoods of Chicago.

The platform will start off with soccer, but we hope it becomes so much bigger. It will be a catalyst for building up these communities to be stronger and solid in their foundation. I know there are a ton of foundations doing similar things, and I hope we can all work together to create a bigger influence as one.

What do you think is missing in US Soccer?

?? US Soccer and other powerful organizations are not putting the money in the right places. Grassroots is something that’s talked about, but it’s under-resourced. Everyone says they’re going to support the grassroots programming, but they’re not doing it. Even MLS is starting to get into grassroots more, but they resources need to be better allocated to the right foundations. Take Tony Sanneh for example. He’s been building his foundation for 12 years, and he’s really been using his platform to better his local community. US Soccer should be asking him how to do this everywhere in the United States. I do support pay-to-play still, I know that’s people’s jobs. But how do some of these other countries without that system produce some of the top players in the world?

What excites you the most about the upcoming youth players?

?? The opportunities they have. The level of coaching they’re starting to receive is massive. The opportunities to play overseas, more places at home, the choices they have is awesome. Before it was so rare that players went to Europe, and today they have the choice. It’s definitely the coolest thing for them. It’s also exciting how the MLS is growing, so their overall access to the game is amazing. These kids have such great skill now, it’s fun to watch them on the ball. But I do hope they continue to love the game and keep the fun in it. You can get burned out really fast, especially when you become pro and the pressures are higher. But you get to learn so much from this game. Travel the world, learn cultures, play the game you love. I hope they take advantage of this opportunity.

That's a wrap from CJ Brown! Thank you for reading this week's edition, and we hope you share it with your fellow coaches. CJ brings a world-class veteranship to the game, and we are grateful he took the time to share it with us.

See you next week, coaches! Remember to subscribe and share the Soccer Insider. And as always, keep dreaming ?