Jimmy Conrad has already built a legacy as a player and as a pundit, but now, he’s carving out a new chapter as a coach.
Born on Feb. 12, 1977, in Arcadia, California, Conrad was a four-year letterman at Temple City High School and played at San Diego State before transferring to the UCLA, with which he won the 1997 NCAA championship. But after going unpicked in the MLS SuperDraft, Conrad trialed with the LA Galaxy but didn’t quite do enough to be called up for preseason training. Instead, after cutting his teeth with its affiliate, the San Diego Flash, Conrad opted to reject a contract from the Galaxy and join the San Jose Earthquakes as a Discovery Player.
Conrad won the 2001 MLS Cup and spent time out on loan with Polish side Lech Poznań before heading to the Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City) in 2003, where he established himself as one of the elite defenders in MLS. Conrad took home the 2004 U.S. Open Cup and was a four-time MLS Best XI of the season selection. Conrad made his international debut in the 2005 Gold Cup and helped the USA win the tournament. He then played for the USA at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Conrad returned to Southern California in 2010 and joined now-defunct MLS side Chivas USA, before hanging up his boots in 2011 and calling it quits on a career that saw him amass 28 caps for the USMNT, including two Gold Cups, one Copa América and one World Cup, as well as score 20 goals in 290 MLS appearances as a defender.
Since then, he’s balanced his time between raising and coaching his two teenage daughters Julia Rose and Jane Mirabelle, streaming on his Twitch and YouTube channels, covering the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Serie A and the USMNT for CBS Sports/Paramount+, as well as covering men’s and women’s World Cup with Fox Sports. He’s also worked as a technical director, head coach and associate head coach for the USL League Two side San Francisco Glens. After acquiring his U.S. Soccer B license and enrolling in UEFA Coaching Courses, he’s gearing up toward a new chapter. In February, he began serving as an Assistant Coaching Intern for the USL Championship’s Oakland Roots.
USL Championship season.
Soccer America spoke to Conrad about various topics.
SOCCER AMERICA: What do you think were your biggest strengths as a soccer player?
JIMMY CONRAD: One of the things that I took pride in was making the game as easy as possible for the people around me. Because as a defender I can see the whole game, when I went into the national team, I went up to guys that have played in World Cups. … This might be considered a little bold. … But because I played behind them, I need to put them in good positions. So I’d go up to Claudio Reyna, Pablo Mastroeni, Chris Armas, John O’Brien — before we’d start, even if it was a drill, just to build the rapport, I knew it was important that they trusted what I was saying — I’d say, “Listen, the information that I’m giving you is that I want you to do less running, I want to put you in a position where you can do less running.”
Let me tell you, you tell anybody that plays the game that you’re going to be around people that can help you do less running … their ears are wide open at this point. Everybody wants to do less running.
At that point, when you have their ears open and they’re like “Cool.” Now you’ve got to give them information that actually makes them do less running. This is where the trust is built, and when you are in high-pressure situations, and you’re giving them info that’s making the game easier for them, and they’re doing less running, then the buy-in happens very, very quickly. There was a focus on that, and that comes with communication, that comes with being confident in what you’re saying and how you’re saying it without being dismissive. …
You’re always building people up. I would also tell my teammates for club and country, “I’d rather you play with as much confidence as possible. If you’re going to make a mistake, I’ve got your back. That’s my job, but I don’t want you to come out and be iffy about your decision-making, dude … I love watching you play.” Just building people up right, and if they make a mistake, you don’t double down. They’re grown-ass men; they know when they make a mistake, so it’s more like, “Let’s have good reactions. Let’s be positive with reactions.” I’ll try to slow down the play as much as I can. I’ll try to help solve the problem as best I can, and then we’ll reset, and we’ll start playing again. It doesn’t have to be emotional.
SOCCER AMERICA: You wore the U.S. captain’s band on a few occasions …
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