Eventually, Mike Petke will take some time away from his office at Rio Tinto Stadium. After Real Salt Lake’s season came to a close on Sunday, missing the playoffs by a single point after a dramatic second-half turnaround that saw the club post a record among the four best in MLS over the final 15 matches of the season, he quickly turned the page and started preparations for the 2018 season.
It was that diligence and attitude that has made him so endearing to Real Salt Lake fans, as well as Owner Dell Loy Hansen and General Manager Craig Waibel. And it helped earn Petke a multi-year contract extension despite still having time remaining on his initial contract to coach RSL that he signed after being promoted five games into the 2017 season.
“It’s a job that never stops,” Petke said. “I prefer it that way.”
When Petke left New Jersey for Utah last December, he knew early on that he was a far cry from home. With his wife and two sons remaining behind in the Garden State until the school year ended, he had plenty of time to himself in his office at Rio Tinto Stadium. He watched video. He wrote up practice sessions and training schedules. He lived and breathed soccer to fill the void – the silver lining as he waited for summer to come and his family with it.
“It was very challenging and tough, but the good thing that it provided me was to be able to concentrate on the task at hand. I was here alone and stayed at the office around the clock and got to know everybody,” Petke said. “Very soon after I got here, in my mind it justified the decision that I made because it was so enjoyable. The vision that they had, I shared with them. To watch it slowly come into play with the Monarchs and then Real Salt Lake, I’ve never looked back and I’m extremely excited to be here.”
Two years removed from his last coaching gig with the New York Red Bulls, Petke had done his due diligence in returning to the sidelines. It didn’t take long for the passion that had marked his playing career and his two seasons at the helm with New York to return.
Even with his family now with him in Utah, he remains the workhorse that sets the pace for the equally ambitious and competitive coaching staff. Although he only had passing connections with Tyrone Marshall, Freddy Juarez and Ted Eck before arriving and inheriting a coaching staff, he quickly connected with his new staff and later added goalkeeper coach Todd Hoffard. As the season progressed, they all developed their own voices in the office, challenging each other while cooperating together towards a common goal.
“The one thing I love about my staff – that I inherited – the collaboration that we have is amazing,” Petke said. “To sit in a room in front of a dry erase board and everybody in the room has the confidence to step up and say how they want to do something. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who made the decision as long as it was the right decision. We have a very good working dynamic and I really enjoy coming to work every day with them.”
That enjoyment reached a new level when it was accompanying a winning squad. Entering a July 4 match against the LA Galaxy, RSL had struggled to find success. Silver linings were found in many results – though not all of them – as an RSL roster filled with injuries and international duty limped to a 5-12-2 record. However, a 6-2 win over the Galaxy and the two weeks of modified training camp that followed turned the corner for Real as the club sought its new identity under Petke.
During those early-July training session, Petke and his staff all noticed the transition was taking shape – not bit-by-bit, but with “seven or eight subtleties” at once that had the coaching staff all looking at each other in amazement.
The club would go 8-3-4 over the final 15 matches of the season to climb into playoff contention. With results came a passionate response from crowds at Rio Tinto Stadium, who embraced the no-nonsense attitude of Petke that reared its head in postgame press conferences and on-field interactions alike.
They made t-shirts, banners and two-pole displays to recognize that passion.
The admiration is mutual.
“For them to commit themselves to 17 home games and come here and chant and organize and support us … that to me is unbelievable. I love people who commit to something and believe in something. If they believe in something that I do and we have that in common, I want them to be along for the ride,” he said. “I am who I am. If they accept it, great.”
Real Salt Lake was already on the leading edge of youth development in the U.S. Now with the club moving its youth academy to Herriman where it will exist under the same roof as RSL and the Monarchs of the USL, the organization is further pushing the envelope for how MLS clubs operate at all levels. It was that vertical integration and aspiration that initially attracted Petke to come to Utah as Head Coach of the Monarchs.
The welcome he has received on the sidelines and within the organization has helped reignite his passion and with his new deal, he will see much of that growth potential become a reality.
“When I believe in something and I make a commitment I want to be here for as long as I’m wanted or I still have that feeling and passion. I certainly have that right now. This is where we want to be,” he said. “This is going to be home for however long this journey takes us.”
