ST. PETERSBURG, FL – On Thursday, the USL Championship announced that Tampa Bay Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins was voted Coach of the Month after leading the Rowdies to a perfect record of five wins in five outings in July.
Collins – the reigning USL Championship Coach of the Year – has seen his side excel over the past three months on the heels of a rocky start of the 2022 campaign. The Rowdies have not lost since late April and are unbeaten in their last 13 matches, including 11 wins.
At 38 years old, Collins is still a relatively young head coach but also the second longest tenured head coach in the league as he pushes the Rowdies to claim a league title in his fifth season in charge. Only PIttsburgh Riverhounds SC’s Bob Lilley has held his post for longer.
“I’ve gained so much experience,” noted Collins. “Every game, every training session, every up and down, hopefully it all makes you better if you reflect on it. That’s what we’ve tried to do as an organization, improve every year on the field. We look at every part of how we prepare to be on the field. There’s a lot of learning still to be done.
“You speak to coaches that have been doing it 20, 30 years and I think you feel that you never get there fully, but you strive to get there and that’s what we’re doing. It’s gone by quickly and I’ve enjoyed it, but obviously lots to work towards.”
Tampa Bay’s current 13-match unbeaten run equals the previous longest undefeated streak in club history, set at the start of the 2019 season. Collins was also at the helm for that season, and the Rowdies have only grown in strength over the years. From the start of the 2019 season up until this point, no team has posted more victories in the Rowdies, who have won 69 matches in 113 outings.
“All the players should take credit,” said Collins. “The guys that have been here are fantastic at setting the standards and maintaining the standards, but then the guys coming in always add something new. Look at someone like Jake LaCava coming from an MLS club and really embracing the opportunity and being part of the team. There’s other new players who have done so well. That all comes down to the players. The new guys have to want to be here, want to be part of things. Then it’s up to the guys that have been here to make them feel a part of things.”
This Saturday, the Rowdies meet the team with the second most over the last three-and-a-half seasons – Louisville City FC. The Rowdies are set to square off with Louisville City FC this Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings up for grabs. As a result of the Rowdies’ remarkable run over the last few months, they are just one point back of Louisville City heading into this weekend’s matchup at Lynn Family Stadium. Fans can tune into the match on ESPN+.
“For me it’s not just about the Rowdies or Louisville, it’s more about the league,” said Collins. “For the league, it’s great to have two really good sides competing at the top of the table and two teams that have probably produced two of the best games in the league over the last couple years. Saturday’s game will be played in a fantastic stadium in front of a big crowd. It’s what the players on both teams deserve. It’s great to be part of that and get to prepare for it. It puts the league in a very good spotlight when people watch the Rowdies play Louisville. That’s the kind of product we want to see more of.”
Collins earned Coach of the Month with 68 percent of the vote. The award is voted up by the USL Championship Media Panel and the USL Championship Technical Committee, with each group responsible for 50 percent of the vote. This is the fourth time Collins has claimed the award since taking charge in May of 2018.
