HCFC coach looking forward to ‘blank canvas’

HUNTSVILLE — Wearing a Huntsville City FC hard hat is befitting the role Jack Collison will be playing as the new soccer club’s head coach.

The former West Ham United midfielder will be building his team from scratch as Huntsville’s MLS NEXT Pro club prepares for its inaugural season.

But, building teams is not unusual for him. In fact, he enjoys the challenge.

“The blank canvas is really exciting,” he said at the site of the under-renovation Joe Davis Stadium. The nearly-40 year-old facility will be the home of the city’s first-year soccer club.

Collison has a history of developing young talent in the U.S. and overseas. He began his coaching career in in 2015 with Peterborough’s Academy. In 2017, he returned to his playing club, West Ham United, where he coached the U-14, U-16 and U-18 squads through 2019. Collison has managed over 130 matches in his career from the U-18 level to the USL Championship.

He was the Atlanta United FC 2 coach the past two seasons. While managing the Atlanta United Academy, Collison led the group to a 12W-0D-5L record with a plus-34 goal differential from 2019-21.

“We’re still here to ensure the younger players are here to develop as well,” he said. “The great thing is I’ve got a good experience in doing that in Atlanta trying to get players ready for the first team.”

Coaching at the MLS NEXT Pro level is developmental but Collison wants to engrain a certain style of play for his club.

“First and foremost, we want to be successful in our own right,” he said. “We want to play a winning brand of football and fighting toward the top of the table. We want a fast and aggressive style.”

“Now within that, we’ve got to be conscious of the individuals within the team and give them a platform where they can really flourish …  show off the best of what they’ve got.”

Collison is bringing his former assistant coach in Atlanta to help him here. Or, as he said, “I stole my assistant coach from Atlanta.”

Omar Jarun, a former head coach for Atlanta United Academy, worked with Collison at  Atlanta United 2.

“He’s a wonderful coach,” Collison said. “Most importantly, he’s a wonderful person; someone who’s going to be a real good role model for the young up-and-coming players.”

The club will get a look at some of those young players during open tryouts the weekend of Jan. 28-29. After that, there are preseason matches against Birmingham Legion FC and Chattanooga Red Wolves and Chattanooga FC before the season kicks off.

Meanwhile, Collison will be preparing to introduce his club to Huntsville in a salute to the Rocket City.

“We’re going to have 5,000 people in here and we need to play the style of football that embodies the community,” he said. “Fast-paced and vibrant. A lot of hungry guys trying to make a good impression.

“I want to give the community a football club they can be proud of.”