Time for another soccer down here one v one and for this one we head out west and catch up with meet the new boss same as the old boss. I guess it is probably the best way to phrase it. Raal San Jose is back RSJ, back in the NPSL and hanging out with US owner manager Nick Rolano. Nick, thanks for dropping by for a one v one.
Hey, thanks for having me.
So when it came to I want to go back to the beginning, beginning, and I want to get everybody acquainted with RSJ from the absolute beginning of everything. When you started started the first time, What was the the impetus to start real San Jose in the soccer footprint there in northern California.
Well, uh it simply put, it was MLS left San Jose and there was a void and I had published a magazine starting in the late eighties and somebody had to do something, and uh so I started the club to see, you know, to see what would happened.
And what was the initial response and how did RSJ grow over time in that in that first first version of itself.
Well, the response was pretty good. Actually, we had a number of players playing for us. The community showed up of the games, not in like massive numbers or anything, but you know, we we got a crowd uh that pretty much paid for the games. Uh and uh we uh we went through a lot of a massive learning experience.
Uh.
A lot of it is in my book called Midnight Game. We went on this road trip from San Jose to started out to go to New Mexico but didn't make it, and our other part of the road trip was to al Paso. Then after the Paso on Saturday, we went back to New Mexico and finished the road trip. But you see that was a difference, right, we were traveling a lot. Colorado would come to our stadium. Uh, you
know we would. Uh. At the time, our division basically was saving the Southwest Division and so we urged them. So you're looking at maybe forty teams at our level across the country and now today there's got to be at least fifty that claimed to be in the fourth Division just in the Bay area here. So it's a big difference between then and now.
So what's the biggest challenge of now, Well.
For me, for real San Jose is to just adjust back to the NPSL. We had spent the last guys. Since we left and what sixteen or seventeen, we've been league building. So I was involved in building a couple national leagues, and at this point it was like, you know, I got to do what's best for the club and just concentrate only on Real San Jose. And so we decided that we would go back to the NPSA and just be Real San Jose.
Because today there is an alphabet soup. I mean, there are leagues everywhere you turn. What was it about the NPSL that attracted you to them and their approach and their timetable and their schedules over everybody else.
Well, A lot of it has to do with presenting the game, following standards. Okay, the last few years we've been playing in parts with some teams and the standards just wasn't there. I mean, they are good teams, okay, But there's a difference between a glorified Sunday league and a league like the NPSL, Okay, where the clubs are professionally run. And during this time, Real Sanaday has always operated to those standards, regardless of what league we were in.
We had the stadium, we had the sound of banners, you know, charge admission. We did everything that a professional, professionally run club should be. So for us, it was just kind of getting back to where we belong.
And I know that a lot of folks sit there and go, well, yeah, twenty twenty five the season, Yeah it's over there in you know, a late late spring, early summer. Yeah, everything's fine. But what a lot of folks don't know is the organization that has to go into that. And it's like, yeah, it's over there, but it's not over there. We've got to get a lot of things moving and make sure that we're there and presenting things the way that we want to present them
as we come back into the NPSL. I always like to ask this of new owners and folks. There's got to be a whiteboard somewhere, or there's got to be a document or a Google doc or something somewhere that has this list of everything that you have to do to get ready for match week one. Where are you on that to do list? And what do you think the next thing that you can cross off that to do list is to get you ready for the season.
Well, I mean, we can host a game tomorrow. Our standards haven't changed. Uh So we're ready to go. But as far as adjusting to the NPSL, we got to like we uh we started this YouTube channel where we came up with a lot of original music and we're doing a lot of kind of fun things to kind of reinvent the club. Uh and uh it's for this new this new chapter. Uh so so yeah, just getting them add the word out the advertising, reinvent us a little bit, you know. Really that's about it. I mean,
we've got everybody in place. We got our stadium staff, I've got a general manager that's helping me out, same stadium, same everything. So we're basically ready to go.
And you're going into I imagine you're going into Golden Gate when they.
Get Yeah, I helped name that.
I mean, so you're going into a conference that you helped name when RSJ was there in round number one, and you're going in there with El Fadlito, who made it to the last game of the year. They've always been strong. Napa Valley's in there, Oakland's in there, the Stompers are in their Sacramento San Ramon. I mean, this isn't the this isn't the football equivalent of chopped liver. Or something that you pick up, you know at Ralphs that's got an expiration data of today that you've got
to buy if you really want it. I mean, this is some heavyweight stuff that you're getting into in the Golden Gate.
Yeah, no fear, we know them all. I've had one of my high school players played for Al far Leado the last season. But there has been some major changes, and this is a big change in Northern California soccer. The NPSL is going through some changes, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to go back in. NAP is no longer with us, San Ramon's no longer
with us. We're bringing in some new teams and we're going to be strengthening the conference at least for professionalism for the most part, and I think you're gonna see a better competition. You're going to see some better news coming out of here, more united front from the Golden Gate Conference and maybe even the West Coast, because I mean, let's just be honest, it's a tough business that we're in and it's you know, teams come and go. Okay. I've been lucky enough to keep this pretty much the
same thing going since two thousand and seven. But it's not easy, okay, And we don't own our stadiums. You know, we're subject to a lot of the society's whims, politicians whims. If you try to be a serious club, okay, you got to deal with the politicians. You got to follow the you know, actually you know, form an LLC, I trade mark Reale, San Jose the name, you know, get your yearly business license and then work with all the politicians and hopefully, you know, make things happen that you
need to get happened. And you know, so it's it's tough.
What's it like encouraging others of a like mindset to come and be a part of Golden Gate in the Western part of the NPSL. What's it like to be a party to those conversations and someone to encourage growth they are in the West when it the nps selling what they want to do and what you guys want to do.
Well the brand NPSL. I mean, we've been around for forever and I seen say we because I was back there in two thousand and seven when it was just twenty guys sitting around the table trying to grow it out. Okay, and so. But it has changed over the years, and you can argue for the better for worse, but the bottom line, okay, the league has sustained itself. It's kept going.
And so the one thing is the brand. Okay, that's important. Okay, you know that the league's going to be around two Okay, you know that you're going to be with owners that take this seriously and whether they win or lose, they're not looking to fold up the tents. They're looking to build their brand, build a league, brand, their stability. It's not like, you know, one season, you know you're going to have so many teams and then you got you know, then guys just drop out just because they can't get
enough players or whatever. There's a there's a big difference where in the NPSL, you I, you're gonna have stronger organizations and the players. And I don't mean this in a negative way, because the players are the ones that actually play the game. But you know you're gonna you're gonna be able to sustain, you know, turning over rosters and uh and still have your your club strong and still moving. So that's kind of what how I would approach it to prospective owners.
When it comes to your phone or your WhatsApp or you're texting. Has your phone blown up since the announcement that you were jumping back into the nps O.
Oh yeah, everybody wants to sell you something, right, Uh so I got that. Uh But then again, you know in the post that aside a lot of players have contacted have contacted me. But we've been around, you know, long enough that it's not like it's just brand new. Everyone kind of knows who we are, what we stand for, and so yeah, I wouldn't say like the brand new thing where you know, everybody asked questions. It's more like, okay, how can we join, how can we sell you something?
Pitching up with Real San Jose as they rejoined the NPSL. Do you remember that first day of twenty guys sitting around a table back in two thousand and seven. What do you remember about that first day?
Well, we had a spreadsheet open up on the screen, had Excel sheet with all the expenses, and we just sat around the table and argued where we were going to spend the money and how we're going to get enough money to keep the league going. And so it was like a real business okay. I mean you sat there and you had twenty business partners and we all had ideas, okay, and we all just kind of somehow
managed to make it work. Then somewhere along the line that changed, and at the time, I didn't realize what the effect would be, but I really hope, and I don't know if I'm speaking out of bounds here, but it would be I would hope that the NPSI went back to being a for profit business and got away from the nonprofit business structure where the owners are owners
and not just members. Because when that happened, a lot of the voices for the ownership the owners of the clubs just disappeared because now the league was just being run by a few small people. Not small people, but a small number of people. So yeah, that's what I hope. I mean, I don't know if that's going to happen. It's not. I mean, obviously I'm coming back again, so I'm going to go with whatever structures there, and like I said, I'm just not going to be in the
league building but just concentrate on my own club. But that was a key thing.
Do you look at yourself as a role model when it comes to establishing a franchise, building a franchise, maintaining a franchise. Do you look at yourself that way as an example for others how they can be successful?
Oh? Absolutely, I'd like to think that I've done things the right way. There was a lot of things that happened to me that first year, which I thought was pretty ridiculous, and it was like a lot of people were just trying to take advantage of me because I was new, and I swore I would never let that happen again, and I've never let that happen to any
new club that came in. You know, I would always take real San Jose and be the first road team for a lot of teams because you know they can count on us to behave properly treat the event for as special as it is, and help them give a
good first impression. Now, granted, we'd like to win the game, of course, but but as far as you know, presenting the league, presenting their club for the first time, okay, I've always volunteered my team to go to those those games, and as far as running things the right way, you know, you've got to get involved with the community as best
you can. You. You have to follow the business structures, okay, you know, former proper business and follow all those all those things that are a real business is gonna do, and you're just not gonna be, you know, just showing up and putting the team together and going out and play, you know. So yeah, I mean there's there's the standards that you have to follow and take it seriously both on and off the field.
What advice would you give to another first year club? And I mean it could be you know, insert first year club here. I mean this year joining in ASC New York. We've talked to them and they have a history in the NASL, Buffalo Stallions coming back district Elite, FC Pride, We talked to Osner's PDA, you, Rostosi and Santa Cruz and you're all coming into the league this year. What advice would you give insert you know, soccer franchise
FC about a first year? What advice would you give to a new owner in a league about that first year? What advice would you give?
Manage your money? Okay? One of one of the things that I've seen, it happened to me, okay, is you have all this money and there's all these things you want to do, and then you just go out and you just spend it okay, and you think that you need to and you really don't. What you need need to do is stay focused on what you can do as a first year team, because you have a lot of first year expenses that you aren't going to have, and you just can't think that you're going to go
first class all the way. You just can't think the same sponsorship you're gonna get that first year is going to be there in your two, three, four, five, six, seven, Okay.
So you've got to build for longevity. You have to stay calm okay, and build step by step and just manage your money in the right way because you know, in the early years, especially, teams would win the championship okay, and go broke because of the expenses of having to go to the championship game and travel across the country. That's why back I remember back in the when we actually put in that we increase the dues, the league dues enough to cover any playoff travel so that teams
wouldn't be u be killed for being successful. So you've got to manage that and and I think that's that's the key thing. Let's just keep an eye on the money.
Coming back to the NPSL Ral San Jose, Nick. It was a great conversation. It went a lot of directions that I didn't anticipate, but that's the fun part of doing these one v ones is catching up with folks as they get ready for the season and finding out how life is in their particular part of the footprint. Thanks for dropping by for a one v one. We'll be keeping an eye on things out there, and we'll be following what's going on there in the conference that
you named. Thanks thanks for dropping by for a one v one. We really appreciate it, all
Right, thank you for having me