Republic FC captain Drew Skundrich is learning to get loud in quiet, fan-less season

A lot changed for Sacramento Republic FC during the shutdown of the United Soccer League that spanned from March to July.

The team learned it would be playing in an empty stadium. The schedule was reduced and altered. Players would be regularly tested for the virus. Coaches would patrol the sideline in masks. The USL had to make an enormous transformation to cope to the dangers of coronavirus.

However, one major change for Republic FC came voluntarily. When the team took the field again, the players had a new captain. After discussions with team leaders, head coach Mark Briggs made the decision just weeks before the restart.

Drew Skundrich, a 25-year-old midfielder with a championship pedigree, was given the armband and the responsibilities that come with it.

“He gives everything every single time he steps on the field, whether it’s a training session or whether it’s an actual game,” Briggs said. “Drew embodies everything that we want to be as a club and as a team.”

Skundrich knows the decision wasn’t based solely on ability. The qualities of a leader go far beyond the field, and he knows he is going to have to work hard to meet a new standard.

“To be able to represent what they want in their players, and what they want the fans and the community to look at and see in the club, it’s a huge honor and a huge responsibility,” Skundrich said.

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

Skundrich is no stranger to leadership, at least at lower levels. He was a captain for Stanford University in his two final seasons in the NCAA. He and current Republic FC teammates Sam Werner and Tomas Hilliard-Arce won three consecutive national championships at the school from 2015 to 2017.

“He has the most incredible work rate of anyone I’ve ever seen in my life,” Werner said.

That work ethic defined the well-decorated run of their college careers. Werner says no player would see the field at Stanford if they showed even a hint of laziness in training. The fact that Skundrich started every game in all three seasons explains just how consistent his effort can be.

That is the same culture Briggs is looking to cultivate in Sacramento. Skundrich leads Republic FC in minutes played this season for the same reasons.

“It’s always a personal goal of mine to do kind of the ‘iron man’ of soccer, where you play every minute of every game,” Skundrich said. “I like to come into preseason being the fittest, or one of the fittest guys on the team, just to show that I can do that.”

Hilliard-Arce shared the captaincy with Skundrich at Stanford in their senior year. He says he played the more vocal role, while Skundrich led by example. Hilliard-Arce would fire the team up or curse at them when needed. Skundrich would repair the damage later with his diplomatic touch.

Skundrich has always been a workhorse. When he asks something of a player, they know it’s something he is willing to do, too. That’s why his teammates see him as a natural captain at the professional level.

“I think that coaches have come to find that it doesn’t necessarily have to be the loudest guy in the locker room,” Hilliard-Arce said. “It just has to be someone that other people can look towards when they need a little bit of motivation to work at their maximum.”

ON THE PITCH

Skundrich is a prototypical box-to-box midfielder for Republic FC. He plays in the center of the pitch, but ranges back to defend and forward to attack. Due to his versatile position, he ranks top five for the team in a variety of statistics, including goals, passes, clearances and tackles.

He was the first player to score for the team this year. It was the only goal the team netted when fans were still allowed in the stands. He scored it at home, right in front of supporter group Tower Bridge Battalion, which went crazy in celebration.

“I screamed because I was so excited, but I couldn’t even hear my scream,” Skundrich said. “That memory will live with me for a long time.”

Now, with no fans to fire the team up, Skundrich is working on filling that role himself. He thinks the team that motivates themselves better will have the advantage on any given night. But he is still most comfortable doing it with his actions.

“You can see with his play whether he’s angry or not,” Briggs said. “The intensity at which he goes and presses or tackles someone. That’s how you know Drew’s pissed off.”

Skundrich admits that he is reserved when off the pitch, but he relishes the chance to show his emotions with physical play. Briggs has given him the green light to hit people when necessary, and he has taken full advantage.

One stat where he leads the team outright: Yellow cards.

“I’ve come to like that role,” Skundrich said. “It’s not quite an enforcer, but someone who kind of sets the tone that this is going to be a fight.”

TURNING UP THE VOLUME

While the crowds are gone from Papa Murphy’s Park, plenty of yelling remains. As each game goes on, it becomes easier to hear the captain shouting orders at his teammates. Skundrich is making a conscious effort in that department, and it shows. Or, rather, it echoes.

“It’s got better and better and I think that a lot of that comes with confidence as well,” Briggs said. “And I think it’s for me to give him the confidence to communicate, the confidence to lead, the confidence to hold people accountable. I think he’s done a great job stepping up to that.”

Skundrich remembers the first time he blew up at his team. They had just lost to LA Galaxy II on a set piece goal, and were practicing the same scenario later in the week. It wasn’t going well, and the captain let his team know it. They responded. Republic FC has rattled off 10 undefeated matches since.

“If I see something and don’t say it, then that hurts us,” Skundrich said. “On the flip side of that, I don’t want to say too much. If you’re constantly talking, constantly yelling, it kind of becomes mundane in a sense.”

Skundrich picks his moments carefully, but when he does hit his team with criticism, it comes hard and loud. His voice is unique, high-pitched and almost squeaky. But since the restart of the season, it’s been the loudest voice on the team.

Last week, Skundrich had his iron man campaign spoiled in the final minutes of the team’s game against Tacoma Defiance. Briggs sent him to the bench for the first time, but Skundrich didn’t seem interested in actually sitting down.

“Five minute, boys! Five minutes! You have to fight for this,” he yelled from the sideline.

He stood a few feet from the action as the clock wound down, demanding more from his teammates. He was still the loudest player on the field, his shrill screams bouncing off the empty aluminum bleachers and into the night sky around the fairgrounds.

This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 8:33 AM with the headline "Republic FC captain Drew Skundrich is learning to get loud in quiet, fan-less season."