ORLANDO, Fla. – At the end of his first encounter with a contingent of Orlando writers, new Orlando Pride Head Coach Marc Skinner made reference to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection.
“The biggest skill set I’ll ever use,” Skinner said at Orlando City Stadium on Jan. 18, “is adaptation. We wouldn’t be here [without it] ’cause humans adapted to be evolved, and, for me, the players will have to adapt to be the best players, going forwards, anyway.”
Skinner was speaking about the star-studded roster he [officially] inherited less than a week ago. It’s a Pride team that severely underwhelmed with a seventh-place finish in the National Women’s Soccer League last season, effectively ushering in the Skinner Era after three years and just one playoffs appearance under former boss Tom Sermanni.
A new head coach, however, isn’t the only change the Pride will have to adapt to. Skinner, 35, looks to bring his non-traditional methods to a job opportunity he said was the only one that could take him away from his former club, Birmingham City FC.
“I’m gonna make bold statements here, but I think people rely on shapes too much,” Skinner said. “And I think they think that’s the be-all and end-all. For me, it’s about having a series of principles and foundations they can play from, so that when they’re in a situation, they can make an effective decision.
“…But, with that, I want them to do that so they have the ability to adapt to shape within the game… I think if you look at it through a different lens, you look at how to control the spaces on the field rather than the players on the field — and that’s how I look at it. So, I look at it slightly differently.”
Skinner’s philosophy is, perhaps, as untested as it is unorthodox. Before joining the Pride, Skinner started his head-coaching career as Birmingham City’s boss for close to two-and-a-half seasons, including a shortened one. He saw success, however, in his relatively quick stint, ultimately falling 4-1 to Manchester City FC in the 2017 Women’s FA Cup Final.
Before taking over Birmingham City, he was a technical director for the club for seven years and had stints as the reserve-team manager and first-team goalkeepers coach.
His experience at the helm may seem underdeveloped and his résumé relatively green, but consider Skinner’s time with Birmingham City as an accelerated course.
While with his former club, Skinner wore the hats of head coach and general manager, scouting and signing players to a roster under his instruction.
“We literally had to do everything,” Skinner said of his time with Birmingham City. “We were a club with a budget that was quite low compared to some of the competitors that we had. And we had to build a competitive team.
“And I’ve done everything at the club. So I think I’ve worked from the ground up. There are some amazing people at Birmingham, and it feels like there are amazing people here.”
Fortunately for Skinner, he joins the Pride at a time when they were assigned their first-ever general manager in Erik Ustruck.
That relationship has presumably started well.
“Almost like we’ve known each other for the most time,” Skinner said. “Erik’s so personable… So, with his guidance and his help and support — and obviously the club’s support — I think that we can really create something special. That’s the aim, anyway.”
Though Ustruck will be able to alleviate some off-the-field stress, Skinner still sees the head-coaching position as a personal charge.
It’s personal from both a managerial perspective and at the person-to-person level. Skinner has already sent questionnaires to players because, “I need to know what they are like as people, first and foremost, before [I know who] they are as players.”
Perhaps it is because his experiences have all been of the do-it-yourself and face-to-face sort that Skinner takes as much pride as he does in his work. It’s ultimately his past that has fostered and encourages the innovative and charismatic leader he is today.
“You’ll get to know me. I’m very, very accountable for my job,” Skinner said. “…So I’m going to make sure that this group are prepared to deal with the ideas of success… So it’s about my job [to] not just to be a flash in the pan.
“And I don’t just want to come here and go, ‘Right, let’s have a smash,’ and then it finishes a season later. It’s about consistency. I’ve gotta build a foundation, and that’s what I’m gonna aim to do.”
The Pride continue to make offseason moves, as they prepare for their fourth season in the NWSL. In total, the Pride are 25-29-14 since their inception in 2016.
For more on the Pride, as they look to make the playoffs for the second time in club history, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com, or you can tweet at him.
