Josh Wolff Takes New Coaching Step

Josh Wolff began his transition from player to coach with D.C. United. He retired as a professional player in November of 2012.

Last year he was a fulltime assistant on Ben Olsen’s staff. It was a difficult year as the team won only three games, the fewest any team has ever won in the history of Major League Soccer.

He recently accepted an assistant coaching position with Greg Berhalter, who is the new head coach of the Columbus Crew.

Wolff, 36, and Berhalter, 40, are “Carolina Boys”. Wolff was an All-American at South Carolina. Berhalter was All-American at North Carolina.

They both went to Europe to play professionally. They were teammates in Germany at 1860 Munich in 2007 and 2008 and both were members of the 2006 U.S. World Cup team.

“In Josh, we are adding a coach with a very good eye for offensive development,” said Berhalter. “He will compliment the coaching staff nicely as he’s a young coach with a bright mind and a playing career that demonstrated his intelligence on the field.”

Wolff, a native of Stone Mountain, Ga., had just returned from a recruiting trip in Honduras for D.C. United when he got an email from Berhalter. It only took a week to decide to move to Ohio.

“It was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up,” said Wolff of his decision. “Once he’s announced as the head coach the dynamic kind of changes. You assess what it is you are and what it is you want to be, and it was an opportunity that I felt was very good for me and could be very impactful.

“Being recently removed from being a player, I have a pretty good understanding of where players are and what the mentaity is, as does Greg.”