Coaching is serious pursuit for FC Tucson's John Galas, who has a master's degree in soccer

FC Tucson coach John Galas’ love affair with soccer began at an early age, set against the majestic — and romantic — backdrop of the Jura Mountains and Lake Geneva.

Galas moved to Switzerland with his family when he was 6 years old. He spent four years there as his father completed his postdoctoral work.

“As a kid, I fell in love with skiing and soccer,” said Galas. “I couldn’t play club over there; I wasn’t old enough yet. But my brother and I would go out to the playground and parks and play with the ball and kick it around.”

When his family returned to the United States, Galas joined Los Angeles’ youth soccer scene and played in junior college. It was then that an injury alerted him to his real passion within the sport: coaching.

“I played in men’s leagues at the amateur level and knew it wasn’t going to be easy to make it as a pro,” Galas, 48, said. “I love the game and thought, ‘How can I best contribute and give back?’ And coaching was it for me. I got involved at a pretty young age, then just started to learn and evolve.”

That evolution included a year at the University of Liverpool, where Galas earned his master’s degree in football industries. It’s taken him all the way to FC Tucson, where he is in his first season running the Men in Black. FC Tucson (2-4-0) will host the Richmond Kickers at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, part of a packed September that includes five home matches in six games.

Galas said his master’s degree pursuit consisted of “a lot of Guinness and watching football.”

At the time, football in Europe revolved largely around pub culture: Fans would go to the pub, attend the match, then go back to the pub before returning home. The design behind football programs in England at the time involved selling tickets, beer and merchandise without collecting any data, conducting any marketing or attempting to create a fan experience.

The football industries program taught its students how to do all those things, focusing on the business of soccer.

“I had really wonderful, knowledgeable instructors and the program combined business modules from human resources, marketing and sponsorship,” Galas said. “I knew I wanted to coach and I didn’t play professional soccer, so I wanted something different on my résumé. (With this degree, if coaching) didn’t work out or I didn’t get a job, I could potentially walk into an MLS environment and get involved in the front office.”

Galas’ concerns were for naught, as he was hired as an assistant coach for Florida State’s women’s soccer team shortly after he returned stateside. From there, he spent time as an assistant at the University of Oregon and the UA before signing on as a goalkeeper director and assistant coach at the Real Salt Lake Academy in 2011.

And while Galas and his family are big fans of Tucson, he said that Eugene, Oregon, will always feel like home.

Galas met his wife in Eugene while she was working as an athletic trainer at a local high school and he was an assistant coach at Oregon. He said they ran in the same circle and played matchmaker for several sets of friends before realizing their feelings for one another.

“Both of our kids were born in Eugene, so it’ll always kind of be home,” Galas said.

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Galas was willing to leave Eugene behind to come to Tucson. He had been working as sporting director and head coach for USL League Two’s Lane United FC since 2013 when he accepted the job last January as an assistant under FC Tucson coach Darren Sawatzky.

“As you get older, you look at these coaching opportunities and start to think about what’s a cool project,” Galas said. I’m a creature of habit, I guess. There are only a few spots I’d move to in the country.”

Sawatzky left the club in November, and Galas renewed his contract with the club a month later without knowing if he was the club’s choice to replace him.

Galas was named head coach on Christmas Eve and quickly got to work adding players to the roster. The team signed Shak Adams, AJ Valenzuela and Manu Ferriol in February and has been adding since.

“We got our schedule, got through planning and preseason games and were ready for the March 28 opener,” Galas said. “Then it was just a big pivot to, ‘How do we keep these guys healthy, first and foremost, while paying attention to COVID and acting within the frameworks of league?’”

The club is now six games into its 16-game season.

“It’s short, but we’re excited to play,” Galas said. “We haven’t played our best and we’re getting results on the road, which is really difficult, but this team has really come together. We have a lot of exciting football left in us.”

Galas said that traveling commercial during the pandemic has produced a fair amount of uncertainty and anxiety for the team, which is looking forward to its multigame homestand after three weeks of travel.

“We’re just excited to come home for five out of six games, and to make a real push for the playoffs,” Galas said. “Only the top two teams will qualify, but if we ... get a couple of other games our way, we’re right back in the hunt.”

Galas said he feels lucky to get to do what he loves every day, particularly during a pandemic, and that he’s always excited to be on the field with the team. That excitement isn’t lost on his players.

“It’s always nice when you have a coach with a great personality. He always laughs with us, but he knows when to turn the switch on and always have us ready for games,” said forward Azaad Liadi. “You can’t ask more from a coach that’s going to back his guys and go to battle with us on the field.”

Galas said that while it’s a bit surreal being the only team in town competing during a usually busy fall season, he hopes that the community will find inspiration and hope in FC Tucson.

“One thing I love about Tucson and being in a college town like this is the pageantry,” Galas said. “There’s always something to look forward to every weekend. I’m happy we can contribute to that hope and pageantry. It just looks different now.”