Ex-Valour FC coach finds success in NSWL

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This article was published 26/07/2024 (784 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When professional soccer returned to Winnipeg in 2019 with the addition of Valour FC to the Canadian Premier League, Rob Gale was at the forefront, becoming the team’s first general manager and coach.

Amidst COVID, imbalanced schedules and troubles winning, the last memory Winnipeg soccer fans have of Gale is of him being fired in 2021 after compiling an 18-8-30 record.

Three years later, Gale is doing anything but losing soccer games, having recently taken the winless Portland Thorns of the National Women’s Soccer League to an impressive 8-2-2 record after taking over from former head coach Mike Norris.

Gale was named interim head coach in April this year, making an immediate impact by leading the Thorns to six consecutive wins, setting a league record for most wins to start a head coach’s tenure in the 12-year history of the NWSL.

The Thorns recently conducted a global head-coach search, but ultimately decided to give the job to Gale, officially naming him head coach July 19.

“For them to make it permanent after a global search for a new manager is obviously a really proud moment for me and my family,” Gale said to the Free Press Friday. “Exciting to be involved with an organization that has a clear vision and goal and ownership group that is committed to trying to be the number one destination for women’s football worldwide.”

Gale worked with the New York City Football Club before joining the Thorns in March 2023 as an assistant coach. Unfortunately, a few weeks after starting in Portland, he was diagnosed with throat cancer.

Gale, who went through three surgeries in 20 days, relied on the support of the Thorns organization and was declared cancer-free later in 2023.

“The club were amazing, from (Mike Smith) letting me stay with his family, he barely knows me and I had to sleep on his couch for 10 days because I couldn’t lay flat on the bed and needed some support,” said Gale. “And Mike Norris, his wife bringing me care packages. It felt like a very personal, very family-oriented connection… It was an amazing show, outpouring of just thoughtfulness and care, really for someone who had only just come into the organization.”

Under the coaching of Gale, the Thorns have climbed to fifth in the NWSL standings.

“I felt like this was my opportunity to hopefully give them something back,” said Gale.

The NWSL is a growing league in the U.S., recently adding two new teams (Bay FC and Utah Royals) to start the 2024 season.

“What’s great now for the game, and obviously Canada and the women’s team have played a huge part in this growth north of the border as have the US women’s team here, is the investment,” said Gale. “The female leadership, the ownership, the empowering of these athletes, administrators, everybody involved with the game.”

“It’s such a huge turnaround, and finally these females are getting the recognition, the pay, the support and the infrastructure that they deserve. The game has grown exponentially in the last two years and continues to do so it’s fantastic to see, and it’s very exciting and a privilege to be a part of,” Gale added.

Although Gale has moved on from his Valour FC days, he reflects often on his experience coaching and managing the team.

“There’s always a sense of what could have been,” said Gale, whose kids still live in Winnipeg. “I never had a balanced season… we went through two COVID seasons, so I never had an opportunity to work and train with the team as you would in the normal seasons. But taking that aside, I’m extremely proud, we had I think it was 150 community engagements in the first year. I was out working with clubs and local teams and supporters and building that connection between myself and our staff.”

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Despite the challenges Gale faced at Valour, he remains positive about his time in Winnipeg.

“I look back fondly and proudly of what we started to create… It was a great time to be involved in Winnipeg soccer.”

With the Thorns, Gale hopes to be a part of growing the game on and off the field for women’s soccer in Portland.

“I haven’t changed as a coach,” said Gale. “I think what I have learned is that you need to go into an organization and a set up with a very clear idea of what is going to be provided to you in terms of resources and budget and the vision. Because Valour was very new to Canadian Premier League, the chance to (coach) in your hometown was really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I lived with my heart rather than my head.”

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca