CARSON, California – Every young coach needs a sounding board. It just so happens Jay Heaps’ own sounding board will pace the opposing sideline in the biggest game of his managerial career.
That, of course, would be LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena, the elder statesman of the US soccer coaching community and a resource Heaps didn’t hesitate to turn to as he took New England from the Eastern Conference basement to MLS Cup in just three seasons (Sunday at 3 pm ET | ESPN, UniMas and UDN in the US; TSN1, RDS2 in Canada).
“There’s been times during the years where I’ve actually reached out to him to talk about things,” Heaps said, “coaching tips or, ‘Hey, I’m having a tough time with this, what do you think?’ And he’s always, always answered it. There’s no one I respect more than him.”
That’s certainly saying something, especially since Heaps spent three-and-a-half years as a hard-nosed point guard at Duke in the mid-1990s under legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski, a formative experience that shaped his coaching philosophies.
For a time, though, it didn’t seem those philosophies would be applied to soccer.
After retiring following the 2009 season, Heaps was spending his post-playing days as a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley while moonlighting as the Revs’ color commentator. But when Steve Nicol was let go following the 2011 season, the itch to return to the game, to lead the club where he spent more than a decade, became too much.
The only issue was that Heaps didn’t have a lick of coaching experience.
But what he did have – traits well know to Krzyzewski, Arena and New England owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft – was a tireless work ethic and some might say unhealthy obsession with winning.
“I think their team has taken on a lot of Jay’s characteristics: hard-working, dedicated,” Arena said. “And that’s what Jay puts into it every day.”
The general consensus is that Heaps’ Revs are underdogs on Sunday, a sizeable home-field advantage and Landon Donovan’s quest for a career-capping sixth MLS Cup title pushing the odds in the Galaxy’s favor, but it’s worth mentioning Heaps actually has a winning record against Arena, defeating his mentor in each of his first two seasons before a 5-1 loss this July.
That defeat came in the midst of an eight-game losing streak, the longest in MLS this season. It was a slide that could have proved devastating for Heaps’ young squad. Instead, it’s a blip that’s faded from memory amidst the euphoria of an MLS Cup run.
“We had a nice conversation last time we played here and just talking where our teams were and where they were headed,” Arena said. “He’s a really eager professional and he’s done an outstanding job. He has got a great mentality and attitude about going to work everyday and getting the job done.
“It’s not surprising when you take that kind of approach that you’re able to lift your team in difficult times. I think because of the strong character and work ethic that Jay has they were able to recover from that slump in the middle of the season and go on to have an outstanding regular season to be in the championship game.”
