As assistant coaches Amos Magee and Davy Arnaud leave the nation’s capital to take up new positions with expansion side Minnesota United FC and Houston Dynamo respectively, United head coach Ben Olsen is gaining another young addition to his staff in Nolan Sheldon, the club’s current academy director. Known for his ability to develop young talent on the field, Olsen is also earning a reputation for the same capacity off it with his coaching staff, and with the hiring of Sheldon comes the next pupil in Olsen’s classroom.
A well-renowned national team player in his own right, the 39-year-old has established himself as one of the most well-respected coaches in MLS in his seven seasons as head coach. His man-management and insatiable desire to win appealed to both Magee and Arnaud as they molded their own coaching identities underneath Olsen.
“Ben, for me, is one of the best coaches in MLS. In terms of the results he gets, the way his players develop and his ability to navigate the complex and sometime cumbersome roles of getting good players on your roster,” said former assistant coach Magee, who left D.C. to become Minnesota’s director of player personnel. “The best thing about him beyond all of that was that he allows people the freedom to grow. I had an enormous amount of freedom in my role with D.C. and I think I grew into it. I felt appreciated, I felt challenged and I think that’s all you really want as an employee and assistant coach.”
After three seasons with D.C. United, ranging from the Under-23 head coach to assistant, Magee’s rapid development aided him in taking the massive leap from assistant coach to a new role in which he acts as lead scout and builds Minnesota United’s 2017 expansion roster alongside Manny Lagos, Minnesota’s general manager. Dave Kasper, United’s general manager and VP of soccer operations, also helped facilitate Magee’s personal growth as a technical staffer and prepared him for the complex task of building a roster at Minnesota United.
“A couple of years ago, I asked Dave [Kasper] if I could start sitting in on some of the roster building pieces that he was doing,” Magee said. “From basically day one, once I got [to D.C.] and once Dave [Kasper] and Ben [Olsen] felt comfortable with me, they allowed me as much license to go out and find good players to add to our list of players we were scouting. So I think it’s clear to say that I wouldn’t be here without the encouragement of development [from both of them].”
It was that freedom, along with Magee’s prior experience helping Portland when they joined the league in 2011, that prepared the 45-year-old for taking on the tough job of making a competitive MLS team in Minnesota. "It should have been a really easy decision to come back to Minnesota but because of the leadership of Ben in particular, but Jason Levien, the ownership group and the staff I got to work with — from the training staff all the way up to Tom Hunt on the front office side — it became an incredibly hard decision for us as a family to make,” Magee said. "I can’t say that enough. Going home to an expansion franchise in a new expanded role is a no-brainer but it was a difficult decision for us in the end because of how strongly we felt about D.C.”
For Arnaud, a former United midfielder who holds the all-time record of most fouls suffered, having the chance to spend time under Olsen in varying capacities was immensely valuable. “The biggest takeaway from my time in D.C. was getting to play for Ben and then make the transition to join his staff,” the Texan native said. “Being an assistant coach under him was a pleasure, it really was.”
Arnaud, while a young coach in his own right, was in a different situation from Magee, having never coached before and navigating unfamiliar waters in his first season since retiring in March. “This past year with all of those guys was very valuable to me. I got to learn from Ben and the other coaches and pick up different aspects from each one,” the former midfielder said about his transition into coaching. “They all have their own ways of going about things and I got to study that and learn from it. I learned things that I’ll take with me for the rest of my coaching career.”
And while his new role places him in a different position, one in which he will coach a team that he didn’t play for, Arnaud’s career on the field will still shape how he coaches. “Just as I was as a player, I think there are certain things I’ll always have and always be,” said Davy Arnaud about how his playing career shaped his coaching identity. “I’ll be hardworking and committed to whoever I’m working with. That’ll never change.”
As Magee and Arnaud take the next step in their soccer careers, D.C. United’s Ben Olsen, along with the other Black-and-Red coaches, will undoubtedly have an everlasting influence on shaping their personal coaching styles. Olsen’s insistence on allowing his assistant coaches the freedom to grow will enable Magee and Arnaud to flourish in their future coaching endeavors, while giving Sheldon the surroundings he needs to succeed.
“Ben is among the top developers of young talent in this league,” Kasper said. “And Nolan will add another bright mind to his staff.
