In times like this, you remember how fast-paced professional sport is. It doesn't pause and wait for you, it keeps moving and things can change so much in a matter of months, weeks, or even days.
Last week Martin Nash was announced as our new Vancouver FC interim head coach, replacing Afshin Ghotbi who has been in charge since the formation of the club and the entirety of my time with the team.
Martin played for Canada for more than a decade, he played professionally in England, in the MLS and has coached with the national team and in the CPL. His playing experience and how long he's been in the game speaks for itself, so I'm really looking forward to just asking him about his career both playing and coaching, and just learning from him day-in day-out.
It's a very exciting move, not just for me but for all of us in the locker room. Especially the young players and the local boys, having another local guy come in and take on the role. There's a big sense of pride in what you do and how you play when you have that local connection to the club and the fans, and I think Martin is going to make that even stronger.
And with all of his knowledge, having him come in and lead us is definitely a great look into the future.
These things happen so fast.
After our off-days, I was back in for our first regular session as usual last week.
I arrived early, went into training, and didn't see Afshin there. I didn't think much of it and just assumed he was running a bit later than usual.
And then, I saw Martin 鈥� said hello to him. I've seen him before when we've played against him with York United.
Then we were all brought into a team meeting and they told us the club are parting with Afshin and Martin would be taking over as interim head coach.
So that's how I found out, on the day it happened and that's normal in professional sport.
It's the same thing with players that depart and arrive 鈥� unless you're staff involved in a management role in the club 鈥� you just find out when they arrive or when they leave.
In transfer windows especially, there can be so many changes every day. You come in and you just have to remain focused and ready. We had a game on Friday, so yeah, we were just focused on first getting the job done and then we'd see where we would go from there.
For any new player, we have a tunnel they go through in their first training 鈥� and I guess if you know, you know what happens in the tunnel. But things like that, we just want to make it a fun environment and let people settle and feel at home as quickly as possible.
For me with VFC, any new big change with staff, coaches, or players, I feel we've been trying from the start to create a club culture. Just a welcoming culture whereby if anyone new comes in, they feel a strong sense of family 鈥� which helps them perform better at whatever they have to do.
And even as people are leaving 鈥� you also want them to leave on a good note and still be that extended family.
I've already spoken to Afshin about all this 鈥� but I'm super appreciative of everything he's done for me and all the opportunities he gave me.
My debut was a league record as the youngest player at 16 and that meant a lot of trust from him. I scored my first league goal under him, which was another record. So there's been many firsts with Afshin, with me personally, and also the club.
Having this professional soccer club set up so close to where I'm from would've been amazing for me as a kid and young fan to see growing up, so him helping build that from the ground for the next generation of our community to enjoy is really incredible 鈥� and I'm so grateful.
Our aim now is to build on the foundations he has laid.
We have a huge Canadian Championship semifinal to look forward to at Willoughby Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 13. The club's first-ever and a chance to be the first CPL side to contest the final.
A huge part of Vancouver FC is us young players developing and learning, but we also need to learn how to win more consistently. That will not only be great for everyone involved in the club, but the more we win the more opportunities will open up for the younger players.
We only had a few days with the new management ahead of last Friday's game, and so Martin added some new tactics and we kept some stuff the same.
This week we've had some more time on the training ground, which has been very enjoyable. I'm looking forward to this new chapter, and as players we are all ready to give our all to make it a success.
.
鈥� Taryck Jordan Tahid, 18, is a Maple Ridge local playing midfield for Vancouver FC soccer team, who is writing a regular column through to the end of the season. In 2023 he became the youngest player to sign and appear in a CPL match at 16, and then the youngest goal-scorer in league history. He played for Canada in the U17 World Cup, and has since represented Ghana in the U20 African Cup of Nations. Watch for the weekly feature online.
