Q&A with South Carolina soccer coach Tony Annan (Part II)

Tony Annan just wrapped up year one as South Carolina’s soccer coach.

Annan, who spent a large chunk of his career with Atlanta United, took over a South Carolina program as its second-ever coach.

The Gamecocks are getting ready for their second season under Annan. Recently, Annan spoke with GamecockCentral about the year, recruiting and more. Here’s the second part of a nearly 30-minute interview.

GCC: How do you weigh progress versus results on the field?

TA: “I think every coach regardless of level, every player regardless of the level takes the field to win. Nobody takes the field to participate at this level. Even in a pickup game in the streets, the kids are playing to win that game. I think it could be easy to hide behind yes I was developing a culture and developing a philosophy or trying to change this or change that. Anybody can hide behind those statements. But at the end of the day, this university asked me to come here and try and win games. I think what’s important is I don’t have a magic wand. I was never going to walk in here, wave a magic wand and change everything overnight.

I think there’s a process to everything. I think there’s a pathway we have to walk that’s not always straightforward. If you’re asking me when I think I will reap the rewards of what we’re doing, I’d like to see it in the next season or the season after. We should definitely see some changes and this thing moving in the right direction. Could we shoot for the stars and raise the bar high? Of course.

But the administration, fans, the board, and whoever it is has to show patience because things don’t change overnight. The only thing that changes overnight is when a club inherits millions and millions of dollars and can buy the players they want to buy. College soccer is not like that. It’s sometimes an uneven playing field and sometimes it can be very even. At the end of the day, I’ve signed a five-year contract here. I intend to see it all the way through and turn this program around.”

GCC: What do you want to see from your team this summer before training in August?

TA: “What I’m looking for from the group now is to begin to embrace and carry on embracing the mentality and culture and setting the bar for the next group coming in August. I’ve said it before: August starts now. We’re going to use the spring to start individual development, that mentality we talked about but start creating that culture in the locker room of this is who we are and what we want to be.

So when the next group rolls in, which is a big recruiting class, this group basically shows them what we are, and who we want to be…those are the priorities for the next few months.

We’re still continuing to recruit. We’re still going out and going international and going domestic as much as we can. That’s pretty much where we’re at.”

GCC: Who on the roster do you look to for leadership and taking the next step?

TA: “The obvious one is Peter Clement who was a captain as a sophomore. I’m looking for him to step up and really embrace his leadership role. Parker League is going into his senior year. I’m expecting some really good things from him and improvements. He’s made massive improvements.

Logan Frost, again he’s going to be an older guy who’s going to take that leadership role as well. I’m looking for Harrison Myring to stay fit and contribute more in his sophomore year now that he’s adjusted to the style of play and American game.”

GCC: I saw you wrote a children’s book. What went into that and what’s the reception been?

TA: “Well, to be fair it was during the first few months of COVID. In March 2020, I was confined to the home. My wife’s a nurse so I became Mr. Dad when she went to work. She works in the ICU. She was at work every day and I was with the kids every day, which is a complete role reversal. I read to my kids the first few weeks more than I ever read cause I was home…I was amazed at the crap they were reading.

So I talked to my wife one night. We’re lying in bed and I’m like, ‘Some of the stuff they’re reading is terrible.’ She asked if I could do better and I’m like, ‘Yeah. You know what? I think I could.’ I’m a creative brain. The next morning. I had a cup of coffee and in 45 minutes I wrote the first book. It all rhymes, it all rolls together. Then I started drawing and my friend was drawing with me and we’re going back and forth on the drawings. Then I said, ‘Know what? I‘m going to publish this.’ It’s dedicated to the kids.

I wrote it about the bear being scared. My little one at the time was always scared about little things in the night and this or that. I wrote it about being scared. I published 350 copies and sold them all in three days. I put it on my Instagram and all the Atlanta United fans bought it. I wrote four. I haven’t published them yet. Heck, I haven’t finished the drawings yet cause I got a job. One’s about bullying. One’s about equality. They’re all about the social dilemmas kids face. That’s kind of how I did it.”