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Jimmy Obleda | One-on-One, Jimmy Obleda, Fullerton Rangers, NSCAA Youth National Coach of the Year

Jimmy Obleda was named NSCAA Youth National Coach of the Year at the 2012 Annual Convention. Photo: Fullerton Rangers

Youth Soccer News: One on One with Jimmy Obleda

Jimmy Obleda, Director of Player Development with the Fullerton Rangers, has had a year that most coaches only dream of.

Following his U-14 team’s successes at Dallas Cup, Western Regional Championships and National Championships, Obleda received the ultimate recognition when he was named NSCAA Youth National Coach of the Year.

What is it that drives this former professional player (Danubio Futbol Club in Uruguay and Ft. Lauderdale Strikers among others) to become the best of the best among coaches?

SoccerNation knows readers want to get to know Jimmy Obleda, so Editor Diane Scavuzzo went one-on-one with the new top coach. This is a new series designed to discover the person behind the soccer icon.

SNN: What is your idea of the perfect game?

Jimmy Obleda: Coming back from behind in a Championship Match to win a game in the last play after losing 2-0 at halftime. It is those moments where, as a coach and as a player, all your senses must come alive to be able to overcome the situation you are in and get the needed result. It is where we see what we are all made of. Those are the perfect games!

SNN: How important is team bonding?

Jimmy Obleda: Team bonding or a team’s spirit is what, I feel, separates the good teams from the great ones. It is what takes those teams over the top when the moments are most difficult or challenging. For me, it is the most important factor in developing a team and the players selected for that team. A team that is united and bonded together can overcome anything and accomplish things others cannot.

SNN: What makes a great soccer player?

Jimmy Obleda: In my opinion, to be a great soccer player the player must be the "complete package." What I mean by that is, it is not enough for a player to be technically gifted, to be able to dribble around 10 kids or pass the ball on a rope over 50 yards. Most importantly how is he as a person? Is he a good teammate? Is he disciplined with himself on and off the field? How does he deal with adversity or setbacks? Is he willing to do what is needed to continue to grow as a player and person? That is what makes a great player. In my experience those are the players who accomplish the most in the game of soccer. The ones who understand that they cannot make it on talent alone. The ones who realize that to be great there must be sacrifice.

SNN: What is the greatest challenge as a DOC?

Jimmy Obleda: The greatest challenge as a DOC has been dealing with the constantly changing landscape of youth soccer in America. In the last few years the world of soccer has become crazy. There seems to be something "new" or "better" popping up every day. It's ridiculous.

As DOCs, we have to be in the know about the constant changes so we are able to make the right choices for our clubs and the players in it. In all this, it seems that many have forgotten that the basis of everything is "coaching players to make them the best they can be." That is it, plain and simple. At the Rangers we have "stayed the course" in what we believe is the right way and haven't deviated from it. Needless to say, we have been more than pleased with the results.

SNN: Which living person do you most admire?

Jimmy Obleda: I don’t know if I can say there is just one person I admire the most. There are so many people who we hear about that accomplish incredible things every day of their lives, who we look at in admiration and who give us inspiration to be better people. But perhaps the most recent moment for me was attending the Walt Chyzowych Lifetime Achievement Awards banquet for coach Ralph Perez.

What an incredible moment that was. Listening to such successful and accomplished coaches (such as Lothar Osiander and Ziggy Schmidt) speaking so highly of such a successful person was incredible to witness. It was a moment of admiration for an incredible role model and a moment I will not soon forget.

SNN: What do you consider your greatest achievement so far?

Jimmy Obleda: I would half to say that "OUR" greatest achievement has been the ability to take a small-time recreational club like the Fullerton Rangers and turn it into what many consider one of the best clubs in America in only 7 years. As a DOC I brought the vision and the "Ranger Culture," but the rest was done through the blood and sweat of staff coaches who bought into what we were trying to do and the administrators and board members who supported it. It was accomplished through those moments where we never wavered from our values and made the tough decisions for the good of the club. We have done something special and are proud of it. But it doesn't end here.

SNN: What do you value most in about your U-14 team?

Jimmy Obleda: I value their willingness to deal with adversity and always be up to the challenge, regardless of the hand they have been dealt. This group has not only been successful because they are a great soccer team with great soccer players but because they have understood that it takes more than that to be champions. And through every setback or challenge, the group has grown stronger to accomplish their goals. This group of players has understood what it means to play for the Rangers and have embraced it. And they are passing that "mystique" on to the younger players. That is what makes them so special.

SNN: What is your great ambition?

Jimmy Obleda: My greatest ambition from a personal level would have to be to continue to grow as a coach – to try to be the best I can be, and to never be content or satisfied with what I know or don't know. My greatest ambition from a professional level would have to be to work in a professional youth system overseas and coach a US Youth National Team in a World Cup, and of course win it! Like I tell my players, "we must always dream big!"

SNN: Who is/was your favorite coach?

Jimmy Obleda: I would have to say Oscar "El Maestro" Tabarez. He was able to coach Uruguay to a 4th place finish in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and a South American Championship last year. He brought together a group of players from all over the world to make a team that can play with anyone. But if we were talking about style, I would have to say "Pep" Guardiola. That man knows how to dress!

SNN: Who is your favorite professional soccer team?

Jimmy Obleda: Do National Teams count? If they do, I would have to say Uruguay. If not, I would say Danubio Futbol Club from the Uruguayan 1st Division. This small club is known for developing top younger players in their youth system and giving them opportunities on the first team. It sells at least 4 players around the world every year.

SNN: Who do you think is the best pro player playing today?

Jimmy Obleda: I think the best club player in the world is, without question, Leonel Messi. However, until he can do what he does with FC Barcelona on the Argentina National Team and win a World Cup, he will never be the best of all time. For me, the best professional player that does it both on the club and national team stage has to be Xavi. He is incredible for both Spain and Barcelona every time he plays.