A Conversation with New York City FC's Kevin O'Toole

Former first round draft pick, Kevin O’Toole, signed a contract extension with New York City FC ahead of the 2024 season.

O’Toole was twice named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year at Princeton University. In our conversation on the NYCFC Views podcast with myself a Roberto Abramowitz, O’Toole explains the benefits of being an attack-minded player while playing fullback in the New York City system.

Here is the entire interview edited slightly for clarity.

Glenn Crooks: Well, congratulations Kevin on the extension through ‘25, and an option in 2026. So, when you think about, you got drafted in ‘22, and you look back at how it all started and it took you a while – till Campeones Cup in fact, which was in September before you made your mark but it certainly has paid off.

Kevin O’Toole: Yeah, that’s right it did take a while that first year. I guess reflecting on that, I feel very fortunate. Less than a year or I guess a little over a year after that to be in the position I am now being extended with the club and a lot happened in the span of the year and I’m just very thankful that it did and very excited for the next few.

Roberto Abramowitz: You came to the team as a forward but here you’ve been a wing back and fullback. How has the adjustment been from going to forward and defense? And what have you been able to apply as a defender, knowing how to play forward?

Kevin: Yeah, I think in the modern game you have to be an attacking player wherever you play on the pitch besides maybe center back and goalkeeper. Transitioning to left back, I had some experience playing there when I was growing up in my Academy days, I was playing two or three years at left back, so I kind of had that in my back pocket. Going into college and learning more about the attacking side of the game really equipped me well to be kind of an attacking fullback in the MLS. So, yeah, I think it was really important developing my attacking game in my four years at Princeton. And then I could fall back on some of the stuff that I learned in the Academy as a left back as well.

Glenn: Let's go back to your earlier days. So, we’ve got two Jersey boys here and a New Yorker (Roberto). You’re a proud native of Montclair, New Jersey, went to Montclair High School and with the Red Bulls Academy, which is kind of interesting that you morphed from there into New York City. But what club did you start in? Was it in Montclair?

Kevin: Yeah, I started in Montclair United in my U8 season. I played a couple of years at Montclair United and then that team kind of merged into SDFC, which is short for Soccer Domain Football Club. It was a group started by Ashley Hammond who's kind of like the soccer guy at Montclair.

Glenn: I didn't know you played for Ashley Hammond. I've been in that little bubble that he built many times.

Kevin: Yeah, I grew up playing in that bubble. That was where it all started for me. My first coach with Montclair United was a guy named Allie Bain. And then after him, I had Kieran Patrick for probably like eight years. He was also my camp counselor when I was going to summer camps growing up. So, I had Kieran for like 10 to 15 years of my development which was amazing.

Roberto: What are the major differences between the Red Bull Academy and New York City from an insider that you can give us?

Kevin: Sure. I think in the Academy at Red Bull, I think a lot of the focus in my early days, there was kind of a possession style and just playing, playing a lot of small side of games and training and playing a lot of possession-oriented games. And then I think as you grew up in that system, it became more important to kind of emulate the first team style of play. And so there was definitely a focus on the high press style, getting fullbacks into the attack getting very direct. And that's sort of when it evolved. I would say after my first year of U16, I played two years of U18. And once I was into the U18 team, it was kind of developing that first team style of play in the academy. So yeah, like I said, direct wingers, fullbacks overlapping, high press. So that was kind of the progression there. And then obviously in the first team in NYCFC, we have a very clear style of moving the ball, keeping possession, being direct when necessary, and I think also applying some of that high press as well.

Glenn: When you play Red Bull now, how many of the guys on the other side, when you're playing in this Derby, did you play with in the Academy?

Kevin: Yeah, there was a few of them. I think last year, the only one that I was really playing with consistently in the Academy was Omir Fernandez. Obviously this off season, he's moved on to Colorado Rapids. So, he was kind of the only Academy guy that I'd played with, but I was also in the Red Bull second team system while I was in high school. Ryan Meara, who's the goalie over at Red Bull was my goalie on the second team. And then guys who have moved on since then, like obviously Tyler Adams, I played with on the second team there, Aaron Long, Derek Etienne. So, like a lot of these guys that are still around the MLS and have moved beyond it are some guys that I played with there.

Glenn: Did you play for Manfred Schellcheidt at all?

Kevin: Yes, I did. Manny was around the Academy and he joined in a session or two here and there.

Roberto: Manny's everywhere, isn't he? I mean, if you play soccer in Jersey at some point. You have to go through Manny, don't you?

Kevin: Yes. It's a right of passage.

Glenn: When I hear about these Ivy League athletes and how they manage their academics and athletics. It’s a challenge Kevin, what was it like? I remember when I coached at Rutgers on the women’s side we would play Princeton. One year we played them and they just looked ragged. Their coach, Julie Shackford told me afterwards,”it's midterms week.” She said they've been up all night studying for like the last two weeks. I said, ‘Ok, we have to always schedule during midterms week!’ Did you go through the same thing?

Kevin: Somewhat, I would say. I think my freshman year I was kind of intimidated by the academics. And so I was putting in hours late at night when I shouldn't have been before important games. And once I realized that I did not have to be doing that, especially not before games, I think that's when it got better. I think also part of that is that the Ivy leagues have a very short preseason compared to the rest of the country. And so we always enter the season with only two weeks of preparation and one scrimmage before our first match. And most other teams have played three or four scrimmages and have been training for four to six weeks before.

Glenn: That's right.

Kevin: So, we always get a bit of a later start. And in my four years there, we always got off to really slow starts. Like we never won the opening game of our season ever. In our four years there, and we usually started the season, like maybe one win from our first five, but then we'd go on like 10 win runs to end the season. And so it was just very clearly, just like a little bit late in this, like seasonal development. And, I think that was also part of it on top of the studying.

Glenn: This year the Ivy League had a tournament for the first time. You missed out on that.

Kevin: When I was there, we ended up winning two Ivy league titles. And I think the other two seasons we were out of the top four. So we like, at least in my time there, we got really lucky in that it really favored us to have no tournament because we ended up on top two of those years. I'm a proponent of the non-tournament kind of style, but that's only really because it worked out in our favor.

Roberto: Going into this season, is preparation any different than it has been for, for the other two seasons, that you've been here and especially because of how last season ended and there was no postseason for New York city FC.

Kevin: Yeah, I think after, after the Chicago game, which ended our season, and then leading into the Miami game (friendly in November), we had a few weeks of really intense training leading up to that Miami game. And then there was an optional week of training after that as well. And I think that was new because the season ended towards the end of October and we had this time that we could use to train, but also because of the way the season went, we didn't want to just, you know, pack up our bags and everyone go off to where they came from. So, I think that was a really important period for us to kind of regroup as a team and kind of, refocus our goals for the next season and just like get a really strong output from everyone in the team.

I can speak for myself and a few other guys that I know who have been doing stuff in the offseason, I feel super motivated to have a really strong preseason, and to make sure, you know, we don't have any early season lapses and get results on the board early on. And so that's kind of where I've been focusing my energy and making sure I'm coming in super fit and really strong to get the year going.

Roberto: For the past two seasons, you've started off basically on the bench and then you won the position. Do you feel that this year, this is your position to lose going into the next season?

Kevin: Yeah, I think so. And I, I kind of felt like that last year as well. And obviously there's off season moves that get made. And so you never really know the full squad until maybe March. But yeah, I definitely have that perspective going into this year. It's kind of my turn to own the spot and make sure that I don't let it slip in preseason and I'm going to go in and work like, you know, the spot isn't granted to me because that's, that's the way I know how to make it stick. And so that'll be kind of my approach to it in preseason. And yeah, I can't wait to get going.

Glenn: I don't think the club would have signed you to that extension had they felt otherwise, but I want to go over like what it's been like for you. You get drafted in ‘22, you literally don't play. You played in the U S Open Cup against Rochester, but otherwise you don't play until the Campiones Cup final, a great 2-0 win over Atlas and get to celebrate that. Then you play the next six games through the playoffs, start every game. Then 2023 last year, you played 35 minutes of the first seven matches and did not play in four of those matches. Then you started five of the next six. Then you didn't start in any of the next five. Then you had a string of 12 matches where you only got three starts. And on September 20th, you played an MLS Next Pro match for 90 minutes, which, you know, could seem like a demotion. And then you started the last five matches to close out the regular season. Why do you think it's gone that way?

Kevin: I'm not entirely sure. I thought I felt like I was training well over the course of the season, especially in preseason and beginning part of the season, I thought I was really hitting my stride and felt like I was in really good form. And then obviously we brought in Braian Cufre and he's a great player. And, you know, he earned his minutes as well. And so, yeah, it was just a rollercoaster of a season in terms of that position. I don't view it as, ‘Oh, I wasn't performing in this part of the season or that part of the season.’ I just view it as more, a reaction to what was happening in terms of the team's results. And, you know, I, I live with that and I look forward to hopefully, being more consistent next year in my playing time.

Glenn: But it's so hard to remain confident and also trust that the coach believes in you when you're either inconsistently playing or not playing at all. And I wonder, I can appreciate any athlete who maintains a level of working hard at it, not getting down. Did you encounter those sorts of things and if so, how do you overcome it?

Kevin: Yeah, of course. I think that's probably the hardest part of the game at the professional level. It's something that I think everyone before they turn pro never really encounters in their youth career because they're always seen as kind of the guy on their team if they end up in the pro ranks. Once you turn pro, like nothing's ever granted to you. And I think that was a big part of the mental challenge in my first year and maybe why I for so long was because I had to find my own ways to stay consistent and even keeled. And I kind of just fell back on working extremely hard in training and just being a super high output guy because that's, at the end of the day, the one thing you can control is your work ethic and so I think that's what helped me in that first season and it's something that I try to fall back on if things aren't going my way in terms of playing time on the field. So, yeah, it's definitely a challenge but I think over the last couple of years I've learned some of the some of the ways to to get around it.

Roberto: When you speak with Nick and the other coaches what are the areas that they believe that you need to improve on to become a next level player? And then on the other hand, what are the areas that you believe you need to improve on to become a next level player and entrenched starter and somebody becoming even better than you are at this point?

Kevin: One of the things that the coaches highlighted in the beginning of the season, for sure, when I was transitioning from a left wing back into the left back role was kind of developing my defensive ability, especially in the one on one areas. That was something they wanted to see me develop for kind of getting significant minutes in the season. And I think that's something I improved a lot at in training and in the minutes that I was given early in the season. So from a defensive perspective, that's something that, you know, I'm going to continue to build on and work hard at because in a four back, it's more important to be a defensive minded player than it is as a wingback. And I think personally, getting up and down the pitch is like one of my biggest strengths and I can, you know, overlap our wingers and get crosses in the box. And I think I get a lot of good service in the box. But I definitely want to want to add to that and get, in better crossing positions and picking out guys and making sure I'm getting lots of assists next season as well.

Glenn: I was talking to Nick and he loves anybody that just wants to talk football. He put you in a category, on a high level of just wanting to talk about the game and watch film, that sort of thing.

Kevin: Yeah, I'm definitely one of those guys who comes home after training and watches all the training footage, just to pick up like little things about positioning and the way you look on the ball, like positioning defensively. So that's something I've just kind of created a habit of is when I get home from training, just watching the film over and then also every game that I'm in, I'm watching, just to pick up little things and, and try to make little adjustments to my game and positioning. And then one of the luxuries having the schedule that we do is that we do have time on weekends and also in the afternoons when the Champions League is on, to watch European matches. And that's something I've also made a routine just because I love the game and I love watching it. It’s good to learn from some of the best in my position.

Glenn: Who do you favor watching or who's your team? And you don't have to say Manchester City.  

Kevin: I like Arsenal and I love watching Zinchenko. He plays the left back position a bit differently than we play it. We sometimes pull the outside back inside and play him kind of as a pivot six. But, I just love his kind of calmness on the ball and the way he approaches the game in the attacking third. He's a guy that is making killer passes but also simplifies it and sees his job as just like giving the ball to the wingers and letting them do their thing. And we've got super quality wingers here on our team. And I think if I can add that to my game, just getting whoever's playing on the left, whether it's Talles or Andres or Julian on the ball as much as I can, then I've done my job as well.

Roberto: In the past couple of years, you've played with Alexander Callens, then Maxime Chanot and then finish the season with Birk Risa. Is there any differences of playing with each of these players on how you approach your game?

Kevin: Yeah, Callens was the first center back that I stepped on the field with in a NYCFC kit. And he was just, I think, the best guy that I could have played next to in that first year. He was always in my ear and like encouraging and positive and just giving me like really good energy throughout all my games and kind of making me feel a sense of calmness while I was on the field with him because I knew that he would cover anything behind me and he was always give me the ball in a good spot. I think I owe a lot of my success in that first year playing beside him because he was such a great influence and leader. Then Maxime obviously is a club legend and he was always eager to give little bits of advice to some of the young guys off the field. And, he also just kind of instilled a load of confidence in me and he told me before that first Campeones Cup game that my situation can only get better from starting in this game. Like you're coming from not having played a single minute and you're entering a really big game and if it goes well, then you're going to kind of kickstart your career. And then Birk is a guy who came in towards the end of the season, but was a big voice in the locker room, basically from day one. He has a load of experience playing in Europe, but also is just like a very easy-going guy who connects with players super well, and we've developed a great relationship, and I think that helps our partnership on the field.

Glenn: Is there any Princeton vs. Yale stuff going on between you and Andres Jasson? Do you have little competitions or anything?

Kevin: Yeah, for the match this year, Princeton versus Yale, we had this inside bet that if Princeton won, that Andres had to repost Princeton's, game winning posts on his Instagram story. And if Yale won, I had to repost Yale's but the game ended in a tie. So, we didn’t have to do anything.