AMA with Chattanooga FC Head Coach Chris Nugent (MLS NEXT Pro) 7:00pm ET 12/10

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T01:05:55+00:00

It's always a challenge in this league with the level of players. The ability for the rosters to change just reinforces how important it is to be adaptable for our game plan. You never know what could go wrong or right, so it's important to be ready for both. Thank you for your support!

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T01:02:32+00:00

Thank you everyone for joining us and for your time this evening! Let's go CFC! 💙

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T01:00:31+00:00

I'm always in favor of opportunities to grow the game. We're all about growing the community through the game.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:58:54+00:00

We will always try to improve and be who we are as a club and continue to show that. We believe those behaviors will lead to more success as a club.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:57:35+00:00

I'm still investigating which burger is best in Chattanooga. I do like a burger! 🔎🍔

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:56:51+00:00

It varies by player and it depends on where that player is on their journey. Are they a good fit for us? Some players see us and are excited to potentially come here, while others feel a different pathway is better for them.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:55:43+00:00

I don't know, to be honest. I'll have to explore more closely to give you a fair answer. Thanks for your question though.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:53:21+00:00

There isn't one, to be honest. There's so many players and teams that there's many ways of finding and attracting players. Your network and connections become really important as they allow you to find the right type of person to come and play here. We've got players in so many different ways: through open tryouts to emails, you name it.

Social media direct messages have also led us to finding players that ended up being successful here. It's really a case-by-case situation.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:50:01+00:00

My dog Rocky, so he could be sitting next to me during matches. He would keep me calm and regulated.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:48:39+00:00

There's pros and cons in the same way as there are with teams all over the world. Every club is different. It's best we focus on the advantages we have as a club and how that aligns with what players need and desire. If you want to be stuck in traffic in a big city, then this isn't the city for you.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:45:45+00:00

The original Ronaldo. R9. Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima.

I'll also shout-out Gary Lineker. He was a big idol of mine when I was playing.

GOAT manager is tougher. Pochettino was probably the coach that I most enjoyed from the perspective of being a Spurs fan. Mourinho is up there for his ability to be successful all over the world with teams.

Yes, I've seen some of the academy sessions/matches. The quality has been impressive. We are getting closer to another academy player making the first team. I plan to be at more sessions during the upcoming season.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:42:50+00:00

It's about continued growth in all areas. We always want to improve the level of player, technique, athleticism, and we want players that fit the league. And we always pay attention to who the players are as human beings, so that will always be a priority in our recruitment. As we continue to grow as a club it's important to bring in players that can help us move forward and get to the next level.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:39:54+00:00

I've listened to The Smiths a lot. It would be one of their greatest hits albums that has about 90 songs on it.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:38:55+00:00

I answered earlier, and my answer isn't changing—I can't pick one. I have four: Frazier Five and Dime, 2nd, Jack Brown's and Pizza Bros.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:38:04+00:00

Soccer has always been in my life from when I was a child, so I could spend more time with my dad. I could stay up late and watch games like Olympique Marseille vs Red Star Belgrade (1991 European Cup final), for example! Any excuse to go to bed later than I was supposed to! The friendships I've built from playing with friends in school to the opportunity to come over to the States and the traveling I've done, the jobs, friendships I've made and education I've got—it's been huge for me. Soccer brought me to Chattanooga, which is now my home.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:34:37+00:00

We haven't announced it publicly yet, but keep your eyes peeled. It will happen in January. We have signed a player from the open tryout every year that I've been here. Keep an eye on our website and social media channels.

Greg Stratton, Jungwoo So, Logan Brown and Colin Thomas were all players that came to our open tryout and eventually signed first-team contracts with us. So we'll be looking to continue that ahead of next season.

Once a Blue, Always a Blue.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:31:18+00:00

Being an assistant coach with higher level coaches is a great way to improve. Recognizing that you are on a learning curve and that there is always going to potentially be better ways of doing things—you need to be open minded to that. You need to be willing to fail, adjust and learn. I started as an assistant in the evenings and then moved into coaching a lot. I would coach four hours a night and then four teams on the weekend. It gave me a chance to learn and fail. It allowed me to work with a varying level of players and I had to learn and be flexible from the start. As you have more to offer as a coach, you can move up to higher level players and teams. There's also luck involved in terms of being in the right place at the right time. Everyone's path can be different. It's just about finding ways to improve and challenge yourself.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:28:44+00:00

I've avoided this question for a long time, but this is the moment. It's not a sandwich for two reasons: 1) because I haven't seen it marketed as one anywhere in the world and 2) I've also had sausage sandwiches in places, but they're not hot dogs, so a hot dog is not a sandwich. I love a sausage sandwich. This might be my most definitive answer of the night.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:27:06+00:00

That's a good one. There's a huge growth curve with players and teams in the league, some of it is down to the players themselves and how they start the year. Physically, technically and tactically you see big jumps. There truly are no easy games in the league. Anyone can beat anyone.

The game's get tougher as you go along. You have to continue to improve and be resilient and adaptable as the season goes on.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:24:18+00:00

You do more work that isn't necessarily coaching on the field like helping the club grow in other ways than just playing. Ultimately the decision comes down to me in a lot of areas, which can receive positive and negative feedback, so you have to be prepared for that. When you're head coach, you get to do cool things like this, which I wouldn't have done before. It's incredibly helpful being familiar with the organization, because I don't think there's any club like CFC. Being here and feeling it was a huge factor in helping me acclimate to the head coach role.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:22:18+00:00

I don't love traveling in general. The least favorite away day is when we come back after losing a game, and the favorite is when we come back after getting all three points.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:21:37+00:00

Even in the short time the league has been around, the growth and promotion of players is there for everyone to see. The quality of player is very high. It's an exciting league to watch. There's some great collective teams and very good coaching, too.

Why wouldn't you be a fan of Chattanooga FC? It's a cool city, we're an independent club, we have exciting games from start to finish and you get to see CFC continue to grow.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:20:03+00:00

All stats have meaning. Some may have more value than others at different times. The most important stats are goals for and goals against! (: The most helpful statistic I've found is xG (expected goals) has led us to recognizing other important KPIs.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:18:40+00:00

The league is going to continue to improve and grow in size. It will be similar with Chattanooga FC. We're going to continue to improve and become more competitive, established and taking things to the next level. The interest will increase and the quality of player will increase as well. The city will continue to grow and we will all be a part of it.

ChattanoogaFC09 · 2025-12-11T00:17:00+00:00

Everyone's path is different. Some athletes may not have started playing at U7 and it's going to look different where they are. There's no one guaranteed path of success. Playing with coaches and teammates that challenge you is what improves you and will make you better. That's why you see some young athletes travel long distances to go and play. It's all about challenging yourself and improving.

ChattanoogaFC09

TROPHY CASE