DC United’s Chris Rolfe speaks exclusively to PDP Editor, Dave Wright about his career and early development years from college soccer to US international and the Danish Superliga along the way. Find out what makes Chris tick and what influenced his development in this wide-ranging look back at his career so far.
Chris Rolfe is an 11-year veteran of MLS. After beginning his college career with the Dayton Flyers in Ohio, Rolfe was a third-round pick by the Chicago Fire in the 2005 MLS Superdraft. Things happened quickly for Rolfe early on. He went from college player to US International inside the first 12 months of his professional playing journey and also faced the challenge of playing in Europe, spending two seasons at Danish Superliga club Aalborg Boldspilklub.
Now plying his trade at DC United, Rolfe is passionate about healthy living and is a man who comes across as satisfied with his playing journey so far. We caught up with Chris to discuss his views on player development in the USA, what’s changed and if he believes things are heading in the right direction.
Given the broad sporting landscape in the USA, we asked Chris what factors pushed him towards football and his experiences as a young player? Chris explains, “When I was young I pretty much played any sport. I have a younger brother and he was very active too, we would play any sport we could. I was a physically small kid, and a late developer. I didn’t really grow until college and given my lack of size, basketball, football [gridiron] and other sports were harder for me, so I focussed my attention on soccer.”
Rolfe celebrates scoring a goal for Aalborg Boldspilklub in the Danish Superliga. Photo: Jan Christensen
As a relatively minor sport in the 1980s and 90s when Chris was growing up in the Midwest, it’s understandable to assume that there wasn’t a great deal of coaching expertise at grass- roots or club level for young players. However, it seems that Chris was lucky in his early coaches, and he thinks himself “very fortunate to have a coach or two that actually understood the game therefore I had the benefit of being taught technique and tactics at an earlier age than a lot of players who came out of that part of the country. For me personally, this knowledge was valuable.”
“I think it’s good for your body to be able to adapt to different physical demands and having a range of skills is definitely good for development as an athlete.”
He continues, “When I was growing up it was uncommon to have coaches who really knew the game. As an example, my father coached my brother’s team until high school and he had never played soccer in his life. He was a great athlete in his own right but didn’t know much about soccer. The people that I know and talk to who grew up in the Midwest were typically coached by well-meaning parents who hadn’t played the game or knew very little about it.”
Despite these challenges 20 years ago, Chris believes change is happening and development is heading in a much better direction. He explains, “I know a lot of my friends that are still relatively young who are coaching for clubs or youth systems and have a great impact on kids at an earlier age which hopefully will help them develop.”
Every sport relies on volunteers and their place should never be questioned or undervalued, but by having adults with more soccer knowledge at development level, it has to be a positive change.
In a country like the USA with a veritable feast of sports on offer for children, it is important to discuss
the issues around specialisation at a young age in sport. Chris played other sports as a child, and feels that the range of skills he accumulated added to his football development. He is an advocate of being well-rounded as an athlete, with a focus on “being good with your hands, honing your hand- eye coordination, and working on dexterity.” In particular, he believes “a game like basketball is great for judging a ball in the air as well as cross training. I think it’s good for your body to be able to adapt to different physical demands and having a range of skills is definitely good for development as an athlete.”
Rolfe for Chicago Fire, 2013. Photo: Ryan Byrne
Formerly of The University of Dayton and a member of the Ohio Soccer Hall of Fame for his achievements, Chris elaborates on his thoughts of the college system in the USA in terms of development and how players progress from high school to college. “In my time, outside of maybe 10–15 major colleges in the USA, I don’t believe the college system was that good – it was really just an extension of high school soccer which is as amateur as it gets. We were lucky at our high school to have 35 kids try out for an A team and a B team plus maybe a freshman team. The college system is just an extension of that – it’s really not ideal for developing technical players; however, in my personal experience it was very good for developing athletes.”
“There is a new generation of American soccer player who understands the game better…”
In 2010, Chris took his career to Europe, playing in the Danish Superliga. The opportunity first presented itself in 2009, when 26-year-old Chris was in-between MLS contacts. Not wanting to wait until the end of his next four-year contract and move aged 30, Chris thought it was the best time to make the move to a higher level. He describes the level in Denmark as “very good”, adding that “it was intelligent, tactical but less athletic than the US game.”
While day-to-day the coaching style was similar to what he’d experienced in the US, with the videos and preparation, the main difference, according to Chris, was that the style of play was ingrained into the players in Denmark. “They knew what to do in certain areas of the park,” he says, “they recognised triggers around decision-making and they played like a smooth machine, everyone always knowing what the next player was going to do.” This made it a difficult environment in which to settle, as Chris had to adapt into this “smooth machine” and learn on the fly without making mistakes.
Chris has experienced different playing styles at home and abroad, yet he’s somewhat reluctant to define his own style due to his apparent humble nature.
“That’s a tough question! Can someone else answer it?” Chris jokes. “I feel at this stage of my career I’m very adaptable and versatile. I can play in the front three or four roles on a team. I play quickly and like combination play. I find if there is a rhythm in a game I will really enjoy it and get success. If the game gets sloppy I am able to compete, probably thanks to my time playing college and high school soccer.”
Chris has had some great career highlights and soccer in the USA is clearly on the rise – given their performances in the last three World Cups, including a tournament win for the US Women’s team, and the number of American players making big names for themselves both in MLS and in Europe. Being involved in the US Men’s team is something that Chris is “exceptionally proud of”. Incredibly, he got his first cap at the end of his first professional season, and having not been involved in the youth system (the Olympic Development Programme) this meant that Chris went from being “off the map” as a college player at Dayton in 2004, to being with the national team against Scotland in November 2005. “It was an amazing year and an exciting time,” explains Chris. “It was a huge honour to be chosen for that team.
I am also really pleased with my longevity and stability in the game. I don’t take a lot of time to look back on these things now, perhaps I will when I retire, but to have had a long career where I’ve been able to find myself in a starting XI wherever I have played – well, I think that’s something to be proud of.” Explaining the changes he has seen within the US Men’s team who recently beat both the Netherlands and Germany, Chris goes on, saying, “For me, the biggest hurdle we have overcome is self-belief. We now believe that we are as good as the rest of the world. We have had players go over to the EPL and have success. Clint Dempsey is a good example of a guy who carries himself with a lot of confidence, had success in England and I think other players here feed off that, so the sense of belief is now there when perhaps in the past it wasn’t.”
With the profile of the sport growing in the USA and MLS rapidly expanding, more and more overseas players are coming into the league, some of which are big names in global soccer. Chris believes this is a good time for MLS, with players coming while still in their prime, rather than looking at MLS “like a retirement league”.
He continues, “There is a new generation of American soccer player who understands the game better so having those players here helps that. I thought as the league expanded there was a risk the standard might’ve dropped but I feel it has actually got stronger.”
Rolfe scores the match winning penalty against Philadelphia Union, May 30, 2015. Photo: The Washington Post / Contributor
Taking the focus away from the superstars like Kaka and the recently arrived Steven Gerrard, we asked Chris who he felt the top young players were in MLS currently. The first player he listed was teammate Perry Kitchen, whom he describes as having “a really bright future” following his first international cap earlier in 2015. The next young player identified by Chris is Columbus Crew’s Wil Trapp, whom Chris thinks will overcome recent injury problems to become a very good player.
In the previous issue of Player Development Project magazine, we looked into a number of coaching styles and talked with leading coaches about how they go about their business. Does Chris have a style he responds to?
His answer is simple. “For me the biggest issue with any coach is respect. If a coach is honest with you, can look you in the eye and tell you what’s going on in your situation, then that counts for a lot. I will work hard for any coach, I will fit in to the team and all I ask for in return is respect. I think treating players with respect means they will give a coach everything they’ve got, so it’s less about style and more about treating people the right way.”
Having spent a great deal of time at Chicago Fire, we discussed the importance of mentors in a player’s development and Chris gave us a couple of examples from his career as to who had been a big impact in helping him become a top professional.
“As a professional, the most important mentors to me are Chris Armas and Logan Pause from the Chicago Fire. Those guys helped me a lot and continue to help me today. They invested in me, they treated me with respect, understood my strengths and weaknesses. They took time to understand my game and help me get better at things I am not so good at but allowed me to thrive and be good at things I do well. It helps to have people on your team who believe in you and are willing to tell you that from time to time. As you know, soccer is a very mental game, it means a lot to have someone tell you you’re doing well.”
Despite his long, successful career as a player, Chris is a man who understands there is more to life than the game. He is well rounded and considered in his responses throughout our interview and when I queried what his ambitions were beyond playing, I wasn’t surprised to hear he was focussing on education and that he had a few options in the pipeline.
“I don’t think I’ll pursue a career in soccer coaching professionally at this stage. Perhaps that’s because I have had an 11-year career and if I was to stay involved in the game it would be more in the developmental side. If I was to be involved in sport I would want it to be at an amateur level where people are playing for nothing more than pure enjoyment and perhaps at an age where I can still help young people develop into adults. Outside of that, I am taking a degree in finance and have just started a minor in marketing to give me some options in different careers.”
Perhaps Chris’ sentiments about helping young people grow and play for the enjoyment should be one of the most telling statements from our time talking soccer with him. It seems that however long his career goes, he is someone who still plays for the love of it and hopefully he won’t be lost to the beautiful game after he finishes playing because of that very important attribute.
Perhaps Chris’ sentiments about helping young people grow and play for the enjoyment should be one of the most telling statements from our time talking soccer with him.
Cover Image:
Rolfe scores for Chicago Fire against Columbus Crew in MLS. Photo: John Gress
