NSN FEATURE:Interview with Cleveland United Head Coach Thomas Bayliss
- Phillip Farrell
- Feb 26
- 6 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
CLEVELAND, TN —- Cleveland United Football Club have announced the appointment of Thomas Bayliss as the club’s new Head Coach. Bayliss joins the club ahead of its inaugural UPSL season this Spring and assumes stewardship of a talented squad.
He replaces Adam Christensen who has departed CUFC to head coach at Anderson University’s women’s program in Indiana. Christensen helped assemble Cleveland United’s first squad that recently participated in the Chattanooga Challenge. They lost 3-2 in a closely fought contest at Scenic City SC on 7 February and beat Tango FC 6-1 in their first ever home game on 21 February. Bayliss now takes over, looking to carry that strong start into the club’s UPSL campaign next month.
This week, I spoke with Coach Bayliss to chat about his journey in the game, his approach to his new job, and his vision for Cleveland United on the field.
Coach Bayliss, thanks so much for chatting with us and congratulations on the new role. Can you tell us about how the position with CUFC came about?
Well, I knew one of the founders, and knew early on that the club was being formed. The position had been mentioned a couple of times going back a few months, but I had stepped away from coaching for several years now and it wasn’t something I wanted to pursue at the time. They hired Adam, and obviously he’s recently taken a new role in Indiana. So, then the position was offered to me, with no pressure. I considered it, and talked to my family. I’m not a young guy trying to climb a ladder. Nor am I a single guy chasing a dream. I have a wife and kids, a farm, and a full-time job. But after discussing it and thinking about it, I decided it would be something I’d like to do. So, I decided to accept the job and get back into it!
Can you tell us about your personal journey in soccer?
I grew up playing mostly youth and club ball out of Asheville, North Carolina. Club and travel ball was something new in the late 80s and early 90s in that area. I was then fortunate enough to play for Mars Hill. I played there for four years and captained them in my senior year. We had some great success. It was great to play at that level, earning Top 10 and Top 25 in the South in Division II. After college, I got a job as a Physical Education teacher and coach. I coached at Cleveland Middle School, all ages, rec, club, travelled all over.
In my third year of teaching, I got a job at Walker Valley. There I coached boys and girls from 2004 to 2015, then just boys until 2019. In 2015 I got a Masters from Ohio University in Sports and Recreation Science. It came with a focused track on coaching soccer. That was cool. I learned a lot and spent two years around some really good youth coaches.
Was there a particular part of your journey that really shaped your approach to soccer?
Mars Hill was an awakening for me as a young player. When I was growing up, soccer was building and upcoming in the area, it still wasn’t anywhere near as popular or big as it is now. I was fast and athletic, and passionate. I’m thankful for the coaches I had then, who were volunteers but in the mental and tactical sides of the game I was lacking. When I got to Mars Hill everyone was as fast as I was. So I had to develop my game. I had a coach there, Chris Crist. He was the first coach in my career who taught me how and why to play a certain way. We played somewhat of a possession-based game with a high backline and a flat four. From him I began to learn about tactics, about how to understand the game, beyond just going out and playing.
I also want to mention Jon Poulakis, Sr., my coaching mentor. I coached from the start, right out of college and other than my college coach, I never had a mentor in the game. But ten or eleven years in I met Jon. He shaped my ideology more than anybody, helping me to get an understanding of where I wanted to develop my style of play and my system. You know, you can grab at lots of ideas. But if you don’t know the direction to put them in to get a team to play, it results in nothing. What’s also nice is that I also got to Coach Jon’s grandson.
Do you have a preferred playing style? Or will it depend on available players?
Well, I’ve seen the guys play the two preseason games. We have the ability to play smart and intelligent. It's a cliche maybe, but I look to the styles of the likes of Cruyff, Bielsa, and Guardiola. Positional play, playing possession. I also enjoy a high backline.
You take over a strong looking side that enjoyed a good pre-season. Where do you take them from here?
Again, I’m really impressed with their ability. I think there's a good understanding of the game in the team, especially among the ones with a little college experience. I’d like to slow the play down a little, control more, and demonstrate more intention with how we attack. I think we can press a bit more, with an organized block. It depends sometimes on who we're playing against, and reading that game. But this team has that ability.
It's as much about the game itself and the Cleveland community. I want players to enjoy playing, have fun, and put on a show. I want us to play soccer, which in my opinion is gonna be the ‘beautiful game’. It may be a brand of soccer that a lot of local spectators have rarely seen. They’ll enjoy it.
Are you relishing leading your team out in front of the Cleveland fans? 259 came out to support CUFC in their first home game.
That was huge. I want to brag a little here about Cleveland. To have 250+ fans at a soccer game in Cleveland at Bear Stadium, in the club’s first ever game…that’s phenomenal! I hope we can ride that momentum. If we can duplicate that number, or maybe even go to 350+; what an experience that will be not only for the community but for the players too. Many will not have played in front of that many fans.
Thoughts on the UPSL Division One you’ll be playing in?
Well our performances and results in preseason looked good. Especially the result against Tango. Against Scenic City, the result was not a bad result, it's a loss, but the team was missing players. The players showed well there. We can learn from that and we want to get out of the starting blocks quickly and set a precedent for what to give our fans and community. We’ll aim to win every game.
I know it's a competitive league. I want to develop the style of play with system I have in mind. If we can develop and learn that, the wins will be a byproduct.
Do you have a message for the community in Cleveland? Why should they come support this team this Spring?
Two things. First, this club is a community-focused club. This is Cleveland’s semi-pro club, it belongs to the community. Second, we may take a little time to develop, but once we get the team together I think we’re going to give them a very good show, a beautiful game to watch. I believe in my philosophy and what this team can do. We’ve got to get training and when we click it’s gonna be nice.
My thanks to Coach Bayliss and to Cleveland United FC for taking the time to speak with the National Soccer Network.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREMIER MEDIA GROUP / NATIONAL SOCCER NETWORK /
NATIONAL SOCCER NETWORK ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561215500230
— All Rights Reserved, Premier Media Group / National Soccer Network
Comments