Fidencio Enriquez

As First Kick, presented by Dick's Sporting Goods approaches, MLSsoccer.com is marking each passing day with a different statistic, observation or talking point, setting the stage for the beginning of the 2012 MLS campaign.

7 – Wins in March for Sigi Schmid, most ever by a coach in MLS

In the 100-meter yard dash, every sprinter wants a perfect start to maximize their chances of winning. Those extra 10ths of a second can mean the difference between gold and silver.

The long MLS season may resemble a marathon more than a sprint, but points in the early going could mean the difference between winning the Supporters' Shield, finishing a close second, and missing the MLS Cup Playoffs altogether.

As a matter of fact, if the Sounders, who went 0-2-1 in March to start the 2011 season, had topped the Galaxy in the opener last year and then beaten either New York or Houston in their next two matches, there’s a good chance the Supporters' Shield would have been housed behind a display case in Seattle rather than LA.

If there’s one man that knows how to get off the line to a flying start, there’s no doubt it’s Usain Bolt. But when it comes to MLS coaches, it’s current Sounders manager Sigi Schmid.

Sure he may not have pulled a victory in Seattle’s first three games last season, but in his 12 years of coaching in MLS, the winningest coach in league history has notched an all-time high seven wins in the month of March.

Schmid’s closest competitor is current LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena, who is hot on Schmid’s heels with six wins in March.

Schmid will get another three chances to pad his March record this season when Seattle open their 2012 MLS campaign with two home games in March against Toronto FC (March 17) and Houston (March 23). If he falters – or stumbles out of the blocks, if you will – Arena, who will also have three tries to run up his March record, will be nipping his heels.

Will Schmid remain the king of March, or will he be dethroned by Arena?