If you were one of the U.S. soccer fans who cheered Jesse Marsch and his Leeds team as they avoided relegation in the Premier League, you will love Voice of the Game. It is a wonderful documentary by Tom McCabe and Kirk Rudell that spotlights Manfred “Manny” Schellscheidt, a German immigrant who came to play and teach soccer in one of the game’s last frontiers, America. He may well be the least known, and most important coach in American soccer history. And coaches like Marsch are continuing the vision of the game that Manny installed in them.
Jesse Marsch is just one in a long family tree of U.S. coaches that was influenced by Manny. Marsch, along with current U.S. National Team coach Gregg Berhalter and former head coaches Bob Bradley and Bruce Arena are part of the film. U.S. National team players like Sacha Kljestan and Michael Bradley also talk about Manny and his influence as well.
If you don’t know who any of these people are, it doesn’t matter. The film is about a New Jersey legend; a one-hour look at one of the most revered coaches in the history of U.S. soccer - a guy who has influenced generations of players and coaches – but whose name is largely unknown, and whose story has never been told. Tom McCabe, the film’s director and former adjunct professor at Rutgers-Newark, is a Jersey guy who played the game, coached the game, and has a reverence for its history as well as New Jersey’s place in that history.
Voice of the Game will be screened virtually on Sunday, June 5th during the New Jersey International Film Festival. The film will be available for rent online for 24 hours starting at midnight. Click here for more info or to rent the film.
Prior to coaching, Schellscheidt won a pair of U.S. Open Cup titles with Elizabeth FC, and also played in the North American Soccer League, where he won a championshp with the Philadelphia Atoms. Schellscheidt became a player-coach with the Rhode Island Oceaneers in the American Soccer League in 1974 and was named ASL Coach of the Year after leading them to the championship game. Among his career highlights include being named coach of the United States National Team in 1975; winning a title as head coach of the New Jersey Americans in 1977; and being named coach of the Seton Hall University Men's Team in 1988. He would coach Seton Hall until 1988, winning two Big East championships, earning eight NCAA tournament berths, and a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2001. In 1990, he was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
McCabe previously created SOCCERTOWN, USA - a film about guys like Tab Ramos, John Harkes, and Tony Meola, who grew up with a passion for the game in a country that didn’t share it. It’s the story of the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, when these childhood friends formed the backbone of the United States team that willed its way to famous victories and inspired the generations that would come after. For guys like me, they symbolized America’s entry into the world’s game. It was validation for the game we played each day and loved. If you don't know, Soccertown USA is Kearny, New Jersey. The complete film can be viewed on YouTube.
I reached out to Tom McCabe to learn more about Voice of the Game...
After Soccertown, USA you were doing work researching for a book on the history of early American Soccer. Did the idea for Voice of the Game come from that research?
I played for Manny Schellscheidt for two years with the Union Lancers. He opened up a whole new world for me in terms of understanding soccer and how the way your were off the field influenced the way you played on the field, both as an individual and as a team. Those life lessons that come out in the film started for me then. The honesty, the accountability, the aim to get better every day, these lessons all stemmed from the time I got to spend with him in the late 1980s. So, that’s a way of saying that this project has been in the back of my mind, as well as the others that works on it, for quite some time. It was our pandemic project. It was a thrill to spend time working on the film with old friends and teammates, and try to explain to others just how special of a man Manfred Schellscheidt is.
There are many phrases or Manny-isms mentioned in the documentary? What is your favorite phrase?
The obvious would be the game is the teacher because it is, but that’s probably the most repeated Mannyism. But my favorite is the one where he asks, “Is the game talking to you? Because he talks to me… it tells me what to do.” That’s the whole premise for the film, really, the game can talk to you, whether on an individual play or on a much higher plane. I just love the concept that the game can talk to us about all sorts of things.
“First you learn the basics - and if you’re good at it and master the basics - then you’re allowed to break the rules and improvise… and that’s where things get interesting.” Do you think Manny’s instruction eventually filtered through the U.S. program enough that it helped produce guys like Pulisic, McKennie, and Reyna who play in top leagues in Europe?
Manny coached and influenced all of those players—people forget but his very last camp as the Under 14 U.S. National Team coach was the one that included Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie. He definitely helped scout them as they entered the youth national teams and was able to spend one camp with them. I’m sure they remember him because he’s just unforgettable as well as the way he sees the game.
The summer I graduated from college I played in a few U23 Union Lancers matches and both Claudio Reyna and Gregg Berhalter were in the squad. You could see their class, their understanding, their love of the game so clearly.
One of the things I got out of the documentary was how players should feel joy from playing the game. It should be fun - even if it’s your job. What is one aspect of coaching or playing that sticks out for you while making this film?
The fun aspect is first and foremost. Without love of the ball and the joy and fun of playing then there wouldn’t be great players or even coaches. Manny is so very German in many ways — the precision, the effort, the science — but he’s also what some would say un-German. He loves the artistic side of the game, the individuality, the skill, and of course, he’s such a fun-loving man. This all hopefully comes out in the film — the enjoyment that the game can bring when you play well.
I’m embarrassed to say I had no idea of Schellscheidt’s coaching tree with U.S. soccer. Out of all of the coaches you spoke to in the film, who do you think might coach the closest to Manny?
Manny’s tree is vast, a mighty oak, if you will, that spreads far and wide. The “talking heads” demonstrate that so well in the film, and we could’ve had so many others. I see each of those coaches as their own coaches, but surely they took some of the lessons and influences from Manny, especially developing the whole person. A perfect example would be Bob Bradley, my college coach. Manny was very much a mentor for him when he started coaching, but Bob evolved into his own coach as he worked in MLS and around the world. I think one of the things Manny preaches is continuous learning from the game, so that’s what Bob did. He’s evolved with the times, as many of these other coaches have, especially when you see all the science and data going into coaching these days. Manny doesn’t always buy into those aspects of the game.
Manny graduated from the Cologne Sports School and then was the very first A-licensed coach in US Soccer history, plus he was an instructor in the coaching schools over the years. You have to learn the basics and the rules and then you can become your own player, your own coach, but you have to know what’s in the textbook first. Then you pout your personality and experiences into it all to make it your own. Manny is a living testament to that. He came to rely on his gifts as a teacher more than what was in the manual — his understanding of people, of teams, his intuition, his experience all helped make him a top coach and teacher.
How did you get connected to so many people involved with the U.S. National Team?
I know a lot of the people in the film through my New Jersey soccer experiences, from those days with the Lancers, to Princeton, and then my teaching and coaching days at St. Benedict’s Prep, where Tab, Claudio and Gregg all went. And, of course, when you approach someone and say we’re working on a project on Manny, then all the doors just open. The willinginess of everyone to give us their time and energy was remarkable.
What do you ultimately hope viewers take away from your soccer documentaries? Do you see them for soccer die-hards or as something that hopefully helps grow the game?
I hope viewers take away that we have a history, a much longer one than many think, and that we have a culture that is made up of interesting people and places. I love talking about how soccer towns make a soccer nation, and soccer people make up a soccer nation. Both SOCCERTOWN and Voice Of The Game are proof of that.
What are you doing in London? Are you teaching there or on sabbatical?
I followed my wife here. She is a retail executive and once our daughter graduated high school, I came over. It was the middle of the pandemic so I spent lots of hours with the other producers putting together this story, so even though I was in Central London, I was working on this New Jersey story.
I hope to teach at one of the many study abroad programs that are based in London. I do miss the students and teaching. Ideally, a course on soccer history, the Premier League and the World Cup would be an amazing teaching opportunity. In Europe, soccer is Esperanto, a universal language that helps students become global citizens.
Finally, is the Thomas McCabe currently playing in the USL your son?
Yes, that’s our Tommy. He played with Christian, Weston, Tyler, Luca and others in the youth national teams before going to Notre Dame. He played two season with FC Cincy before dropping down to the USL and Orange County SC.
The New Jersey International Film Festival runs across two weekends - June 3-5 and June 10-12. The festival is a hybrid one as they are presenting films online as well as doing select live in person screenings at Rutgers University. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. Each ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and in person screenings. The select in person screenings will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, New Jersey beginning at either 5:00pm or 7:00pm on their show date. Face coverings and proof of vaccination will be required for the in person screenings. Tickets are $15=Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$100.
