It wasn’t long after D.C. United players and staff loaded the bus full of gear and were headed to training, that questions about Vancouver started flowing in to United assistant coach Pat Onstad. Where did you live from here? What neighborhood is this called? Where’s a good place to eat, to grab coffee? On and on.
In plain sight of the D.C. United training field in Vancouver at Jericho Park are huge, pristine, snow-covered coastal mountaintops. Onstad explains that you can get to them in 20-45 minutes, depending which mountain you choose. Many of the players and staff stopped to admire the great view before and after training on Thursday, but this view is commonplace for United’s Assistant Coach Pat Onstad.
Onstad spent most of his childhood just a short walk up the hill that is opposite Grouse Mountain. You can see his elementary school from the training field and Onstad says the past day or so has been “surreal.” His parents, both teachers at nearby schools, still live in his childhood home and his father even stopped by training on Thursday just after United arrived in Vancouver for a Saturday night matchup against Whitecaps FC. Onstad first points to the left and explains that there are two beaches, Jericho and Locarno, where he spent many days during the Vancouver summers. He then points off in the distance to the right and notes that he and his friends used to play hockey on a pond once it was frozen over. Onstad played hockey until he was 15 and is a major fan of the local NHL team, the Vancouver Canucks.
Being at home and the familiarity that comes along with that is showing. Onstad’s demeanor is a bit more relaxed, a bit more confident. On the field, though, he is the same methodical and hardworking coach that has brought him major successes over the year. Onstad attended college just up the road at the University of British Columbia, and even a videographer stopped by to chat with him about his recent induction into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame. It’s no surprise, given the fact that he was a three-time CIAU National Champion. The road Onstad took beyond Vancouver is impressive and that’s why you see him here today as a United assistant. As a Canadian international of over 20 years, Onstad earned 56 caps for his country, and a record 21 shutouts. Onstad’s experience goes well beyond representing his country. He is widely considered to be one of the top goalkeepers in Major League Soccer history. He is the League’s all-time leader with a goals-against average mark of 1.12 (minimum 10,000 minutes played). He raised the MLS Cup three different times, in 2003, 2006 and 2007.
And now, Onstad is back where it all began - in his hometown of Vancouver. While he'll clearly be hoping for a positive result for the visitors on Saturday night, he undoubtedly has a sense of pride knowing that his hometown is now represented in the League where he found so much success.
