Jason’s very competitive. On the field and as a manager he doesn’t take losing lightly. He wants to win every game, and he puts a lot of that on his own back. The players like that. They like a leader like that. – RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando, on Jason Kreis
SANDY — Jason Kreis is the kind of person who doesn’t like to lose.
Just ask Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando, who admitted that he, among other players that have worked with Kreis, likes his work ethic as a manager.
“Jason’s very competitive. On the field and as a manager he doesn’t take losing lightly,” said Rimando. “He wants to win every game, and he puts a lot of that on his own back. The players like that. They like a leader like that.”
Saturday was a bittersweet reminder for Kreis that things don’t often come easy, especially after his expansion side fell 2-0 in his grand return to Salt Lake.
Struggling to a 1-7-4 record at the helm of New York City FC, the often self-critical Kreis has been dealing with the pressure of jumpstarting one of the largest market teams in MLS.
“I remember when I left (RSL) I said very clearly to everybody that pressure from me comes from me. Pressure from me doesn’t come from everybody else, because frankly I don’t pay attention to it,” said Kreis. “I’ve always been somebody who's been very self-focused and self-critical. So, that pressure doesn’t change. Certainly, the pressure seems to rise when you don’t get the results. And to go on the run that we have at the beginning of the season, I’ve been putting more and more pressure on myself and doing everything I can to deal with that the best way I know how.”
Noticeably absent from NYCFC Saturday evening was former RSL midfielder Ned Grabavoy. Having missed last week's game due to injury, Grabavoy went through a whole week of training before ultimately suffering a setback Friday.
It was the second match in a row Grabavoy has missed for NYCFC, after playing every minute for the club in the previous 10 games.
Adjusting to the New York way of life has also presented a new challenge for Kreis. From the influx of new people to simply planning transportation around the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple.
“The flip-side of that is that it’s a vibrant place,” admitted Kreis. “It’s full of energy and there’s a certain feeling about living around so many other people and so many different cultures that it’s pretty neat.”
Whether it’s building an empire in the desert of Utah or injecting his passion for the game into NYCFC, Kreis is still the same competitive person as when he left the Beehive State.
“I think that anybody that’s as competitive and successful as Jason has been throughout his playing and coaching career, he’s going to be somebody that’s constantly evolving and trying to better himself,” said former RSL defender Chris Wingert. “With that being said, I still think he’s the same person. He knows what got him to where he’s at, and that’s hard work. And he’s still working extremely hard and he's very detail oriented like he was when he was here.”
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