The sun has barely risen in Orangeburg, New York, as Rob Vartughian makes his way through the doors of New York City Football Club’s training base.
The assistant coach has been with the club since 2014, and that time has allowed him to implement a rhythm and pattern to his day. By eight o’clock he’s in front of his computer, strategizing.
“Essentially, it’s a review of what the day is going to bring from a training perspective,” he explained. "What I'm going to do within my own responsibilities, and then looking ahead to continue our preparation for the rest of the week as we get closer to the game. We try to be more proactive than reactive with everything.”
That structured approach is something Vartughian appreciates when cast against the spontaneity soccer can summon. The consistency of that process can become imperative – particularly during moments of adversity.
NYCFC’s 2021 and 2022 campaigns have shared a similar arc. Both began with strong starts to the season, with the team excelling defensively and offensively, before a difficult stretch of games – in 2021 that came in September, and this season, in August.
During both instances, it was the strategy devised over many years, through trial and error, that guided the team’s work.
“I think the worst thing you can do is to abandon your process because things aren't going your way,” he explained.
“Tough times always test people's character, and they also test your process. Where I think we've been good and consistent is we don't abandon those things - there's no reason to panic. In those moments, you have to trust the way that you’re working is one that you believe in, the players believe in.”
While the focus is so often on the present and the future, Vartughian’s history with the club affords him a unique perspective. Before his time with NYCFC, he spent five years with the Philadelphia Union as an assistant coach and technical director, building on seven years as an assistant coach at the University of Maryland.
“I think I've grown quite a bit,” he said. “I think anybody who's coaching will tell you that what you think you knew at 25 is nothing compared to what you know at 30 and then when you’re 35, you realize how much you didn't know at 30.
“I think it's a constant evolution. I say this to a lot of people, but I’m incredibly fortunate to be a part of this club for as long as I have. I've had the opportunity to work with some great managers here. I have learned from all of them and have been able to form and tweak my own way of doing things in the process.”
That time has also allowed Vartughian to note the small and subtle changes across the different eras in NYCFC history, be it players or coaches.
“Every season and every team are different. I think this group has a resiliency about them and a competitive spirit that's pretty special,” he said. “They’re a group of people that have won something together. There's a core of the locker room that have been here through several iterations of this club and I think what you see is that very experience in this group.
“It's fun when you get to see that growth from our side because you know all the work that has gone in. You share so many experiences together across multiple seasons and live through the good and the bad… the really difficult moments and also the amazing moments. There’s a togetherness and a trust that gets built from those experiences and I think you see that with our players. We have a group that understands big moments and because they’ve been in them, they understand them and are motivated by them.”
Although time on the training field and honing his craft are drivers for Vartughian, the assistant coach also takes energy from the NYCFC fans. That, alongside further development as a coach, is what motivates him to be at work in Orangeburg both early and often.
“If you look across the performances of the team when the stadium is full," he said, "it is undeniable to anybody watching from the outside the energy the supporters give us.
“We know the passion they have for this club. You can feel it the minute you get to the stadium, and you walk out for warmup and that energy is critical. That is what drives a team. We don't want to talk about last year because last year was last year, but some of the scenes we got to see after, at the Hammerstein Ballroom and other places; I still watch that with my kids and to this day, I get goosebumps, because if that doesn't inspire you to want to repeat things, to get that feeling again, then you're in the wrong profession.”
