Inside the Tormenta Manager Search

It's a sad state of affairs when this is what
passes for journalism these days.

Ok, that title may be overselling it a lot as we're not doing a deep dive into how Mark McKeever came to be the manager of Tormenta, but I did get some details about the process and wanted to pass them along. 

So apparently me and my oldest were on the opening of the Torment/Richmond broadcast where they show scenes from around the stadium. Special thanks to Jackson Popkin who got a screenshot of us as we were talking to Tormenta co-owner and president Darin Van Tassell who, and I swear this is true, came down and the first thing he asked was how my oldest did in America's Favorite Game where he guesses the Tormenta starting eleven. (He got nine right.)

But since he was there and it was the first chance I'd had to talk to him since Tormenta announced the hiring of Mark McKeever on a permanent basis, I wanted to ask what went in to that decision and what the process was like to arrive at the decision he did. It was clearly a very informal discussion to the point I wasn't even recording it as I gave him the choice of making it on or off the record. Mostly I was just curious as to what it looked like when a Head Coaching position came open at a USL League One team.

To my delight, Van Tassell was happy to talk about it and it was all on the record. The whole discussion lasted maybe five minutes, so lets get in to it, shall we?

Van Tassell said there was a lot of interest in the position and he received more than 50 applications from people interested in the job. Some, he said, were from MLS assistant coaches looking to move into a head coaching role. 

He found it interesting to read some of the documents that prospective coaches sent detailing what they saw was not working for Tormenta and how they would go about changing and fixing things if they were in the head coaching role. Some, he said, were as many as 60 pages. 

McKeever had some advantages over the other applicants as he was currently in the role and having success, leading Tormenta to a 5-1-1 record before he was named the permanent head coach (he, obviously, led Tormenta to another win over Richmond since then.)

Van Tassell said of himself that his greatest strength is also one of his biggest faults in that he is extremely loyal and he wants people who want to be in Statesboro for the long haul. He added that the year off for McKeever after he and One Knox parted ways last August and his hiring in Statesboro may have been an opportunity for McKeever to reflect and figure out what he wanted to do and what makes him happy.

He said McKeever has told him how happy he is being in Statesboro and coaching Tormenta and Van Tassell said he can see the happiness from McKeever, who he has known for a while.

One area Van Tassell said was important for him was hiring someone who knew and understood Tormenta and would carry the legacy of the club forward. So as part of his figuring out who would be the next Manager, he reached out to ten current Tormenta players (he didn't specify which ones), and asked them if they were in Van Tassell's shoes, what would they do when it came to hiring the next manager.

He said all ten, without hesitation, said McKeever would be who they would hire. He also reached out to former Tormenta players Marco Micaletto and Mikie Rowe, both of whom played for McKeever at Young Harris College, to get their opinions on hiring McKeever and both were positive in their assessments. 

McKeever, in his post match interview on Saturday night, said he's had a long, indirect relationship with Tormenta, referencing Micaletto, Rowe and current One Knox player Jordan Skelton who was with Tormenta in 2019-2020. 

"So, to take the job after all those players I've worked with have come through this program, it makes it a wee bit special, right? There was definitely a connection there and now to be here permanently, it's a good feeling," he said.

"I'm just grateful for the opportunity. I feel very blessed to be here. It's been a life-changing experience for me and I'm forever grateful," McKeever said to conclude his postmatch comments on Saturday.

Tormenta returns to action Friday night as they host Westchester SC at 7 p.m.

On a programming note, I'll have a Tormenta story in Thursday's print edition of the Statesboro Herald that I assume will also have an online link. If you're reading this blog there's likely not anything all that new as it's just a look at Tormenta's move up the table into playoff position with just a month left in the year. Having said that, I'd still appreciate it if you read it when it comes out. There will be new quotes from McKeever, Conor Doyle and Taylor Gray, so that'll be something to look forward to. 

I'll also have an abbreviated Friday preview (Thursday's story will have be a brief preview as well) and the Tormenta rooting guide for the weekend here at Stormwatch912.

Have a great day everyone.