Dean Smith sorting pieces as Charlotte FC starts training

CHARLOTTE FC

One of the first tasks for new Charlotte FC coach Dean Smith (center) is to improve the team's pace compared to the 2023 squad.

First-year Charlotte FC manager Dean Smith says he’s watched probably the last eight games of the season – a bit further for a player like Ben Bender who was dealt a season-ending injury earlier in the summer - to get an idea of the players under game conditions.

As the man who has to put together a cohesive unit with multiple moving parts that can be adjusted on the fly, Smith must see how the cusp-of-the-playoffs squad he inherited acts and reacts individually and collectively under match conditions. He must understand how well they play with others, how they connect, or not, how they react under pressure, how they move to create pressure on the opponent, how well they conspired to break down defenses, and how they succeeded or failed in thwarting others.

The team has been training in the warmer climes of Miami, Florida for the past 10 days and will return to Charlotte on Friday for a few days before jetting to California for a couple of weeks that will escalate into the heightened competition of the Coachella Valley Invitational, where the Crown will play three open-door friendlies against MLS competition.

The schedule includes the LA Galaxy on Feb. 7 at 2 p.m., San Jose Earthquakes on Feb. 10 at 2:00 p.m., and Minnesota United FC at 1 p.m. on Feb. 17. More information can be found at CoachellaValleyInvitational.com.
All of this is targeting the home opener at Bank of America Stadium against New York City FC on Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m.

Speed thrills

When Charlotte captain Ashley Westwood commented last week that team speed was a focus in training, Smith responded, “When I looked at the games and the roster, I didn't think there was enough pace within, certainly in the front line. Defenders are scared of pace and I didn't feel that we had enough pace within the squad, so that was something that I felt we could certainly work on.”

Some of that pace in place was traded in mid-December when Charlotte sent winger McKinze Gaines to Nashville SC in exchange for their second-round selection in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. That 38th overall pick was Jahlane Forbes, a 21-year-old left back who played at Wake Forest. Charlotte previously traded up to select Tyger Smalls, a London-born forward who came up through the professional academy system before playing at Loyola Marymount University with demonstrative quickness and pace.

Speed is more than physical pace, though. Speed of thought and decision-making are also critical, so Smith and his staff are honing the mental aspects as well.

“That's something that we need to improve,” he said. “A lot of the sessions have been about decision making and making lots of decisions. Players are making snap decisions every couple of seconds in a game and we need to make them understand what are the best decisions for them to make, without taking away their feel for situations.”

Smith also inferred he wants an aggressive attitude, tempered with patience but always looking for an opening.

“You know what I don't like to see is people always coming towards the ball. I think that makes a job for defenders easy. I want people who want to go and break lines,” he said. Not passing for passing’s sake but with the purpose of unsettling a defense when combined with smart runs off the ball.

“You can watch Manchester City and see Erling Haaland make 24 of them runs and he may only get the ball twice,” he said. “That's the mentality that we will need.”

Smith also said that Kamil Jozwiak, one of Charlotte’s three designated players, has not been with the team in Miami and is now working with his agent to find another club. Smith acknowledged the two had spoken and that he had been open with Jozwiak about his desire to find a player with a different profile for his system.

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