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Q. W ha t coa chi ng e x per i enc e d i d y o u h a v e b ef o r e y o u t o o k ov e r f or Dav e M a cW il l ia ms in Phi l a de l p hi a ? A . My coaching experience was strictly at the youth level, although I did coach an amateur club at one point when I was playing in L.A with the L .A . S al s a. as much as if I was just another player on the team. At the same time I don't completely separate myself from the players, where they would feel uncomfortable in even talking to me. I believe my players feel close enough to come to me with any of their problems on and off the field. Q. A s a p la y Q. How do y ou d r aw er, how d o y ou t h e b o u n d a r i es b e t we en cond uct y our Omi d t he pl ay e r and s e l f t o s et a Omi d t he coa ch? g o o d e x a mp l e A . I don't dwell on that f o r t h e p l a y er s too much. I try to put in on y our t ea m? honest work, as a player A . I try to and as a coach, and feel that if I did that, I would set an example KiXX player/coach, Omid Namazi have the respect of the on and off the field. On the players on the team. field with hard Q. Do y ou t hi nk p la y er / work and deterc o a c h e s a r e g o o d f o r t h e g a me ? mination, and off of it by being a A . I must say it has worked out good professional, and taking care of myself, as well as giving back to here in Philadelphia. It really depends on the individual team the community. and coach. Q. A s a c oach , do y o u s oci al i z e w i t h y o u r p l a y er s t h e wa y Q. W ha t mak es s ome p la y y ou w oul d a s a f e l l ow pl a y e r ? e r / c o a c h e s s u c c e s s f u l a n d s o me A . I would say I don't socialize n o t s o s u c c es s f u l ? A . I really believe that a player/coach needs to "practice what he preaches" to the players on his team, otherwise he will quickly lose the respect that he should have as a coach. Q. Can y ou e v al uat e y our ow n p e r f o r ma n c e t h e s a me w a y y o u c a n e v a l u a t e t h e p e r f o r ma n c e o f y our pl ay e r s ? I f y ou'r e hav i ng a b a d ga me h a v e y o u e v e r "ben ched" y our s el f ? Do y o u ev er ma k e a n e x a mp l e o f y o u r s e l f (i .e. by be nchi ng y our s el f or cr i t i c i z i n g y o u r o w n p e r f o r ma n c e i n f r ont o f t he t eam)? A . I am harsher on myself than I am on other players. Last season, I remember I had a lousy game in M i lw auk ee where we lost to the Wav e, and the next day I benched myself in a game against Ba l t imor e that was played in Na s hv i ll e. At times I have indeed criticized my own play in front of the team. You have to be able to be self-critical if you want to be a successful player/coach. Q. Do y ou cons ide r t he ot her c o a c h es i n t h e l e a g u e t o b e y o u r p e er s a n d h o w w a s i t l a s t y e a r b e i n g t h e o n l y p l a y er / c o a c h i n t h e l e a g u e? A . Of course other coaches are my peers, and we treat each other as such. I believe being the only player/coach, had some advantages, but also some disadvantages. Q. H ow do y ou s ee t h e M I SL r a c es t h i s s e a s o n w i t h t h e a d d i t i ons of Da l l a s a nd S a n Di e g o a n d t he r e t ur n of di v i s i o na l pl a y ? A . I am excited about the competition this year. I believe San Diego and Dallas will bring a different style of play to the league, which will only add to the excitement. I think you will still see Milwaukee making a strong run, but I wouldn't count out the likes of Baltimore and Ka ns a s Ci t y. Of course I think we will be as strong as last year, if not stronger, so it's going to be interesting to see how it all takes shape. Sydney Nusinov is a regular columnist for GOAL Indoor.

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