Utilizing his Strengths: Guzman Thriving with LAFC

By Tim Heiduk

August 21, 2020

(LOS ANGELES) In 2008, Daniel Guzman joined a long line of Guzmans to attend Westmont, becoming the fourth person in his extended family to play for the Warrior men’s soccer team.

“There was a family appeal; there was a legacy,” said Guzman, whose three younger siblings – Erica (’14), Michael (’16) and Jordan (’18) – attended Westmont after him. “My dad Gus (’82), my uncle Alfonso (’77), ‘the Fonz’ everybody knows him, then my dad’s next oldest brother Peter (’81) went there for a little bit. He went to UCSB and then he went to Westmont, so there was a little bit of a family feel there.”

Guzman is now forging his own path professionally, serving as the Head Performance Coach for Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC), one of the top teams in Major League Soccer (MLS).

LAFC is the second MLS organization Guzman has worked with, having previously served as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy from 2014-2016. Yet Guzman, who held the same role with the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) in 2017, said he initially didn’t see a long-term career as a strength and conditioning coach.

“I thought I would just do it for a year and have a job that I enjoyed,” Guzman said of his thoughts when he was first entering the profession. “When I realized that it was more than just looking good, weight loss and fat loss, which are important parts of the job, but you can actually make physiological adaptations and improve someone’s confidence, help[ing] them perform better in their arena of life.

“They may not be athletes. They might just want to hang out with their kids or whatever. When I realized that, I thought, ‘Okay, here’s a way that God can use me through this.’

“I don’t know if I’ll do this forever, but right now I feel this is where he’s (God) utilizing my strengths,” Guzman added. “It’s an easy one to keep on showing up to work for and enjoy.”

Guzman said it was a Westmont Strength and Conditioning class that he took with Dr. Gregg Afman and Chris Ecklund which sparked his initial interest to follow his current career path. Then an internship with Athletes’ Performance, now known as EXOS, cemented his desire to pursue strength and conditioning professionally.

“I did this internship in LA with some pro athletes and to realize that it wasn’t just smoke and mirrors of, ‘We’re going to film you doing something cool,’ but we’re actually going to make changes to help you feel stronger, so that you can jump higher when you’re trying to dunk the ball or whatever it is,” Guzman said. 

“Seeing the smiles on their faces, whether they’re a pro athlete or a 15-year-old boy, there’s just a confidence when you realize you’re more fit than you were before, or you’re stronger or your injury resilient. You went a full season without getting an injury. I think those things gave me confidence to see that God was making it more clear the vocation that he had for me.”

Guzman said that he specifically applies another kinesiology class he took at Westmont, Pedagogy and Leadership, in his current role with LAFC.

“It just helped me with the way I thought about presenting myself,” said Guzman, who minored in economics and business. “When I do an interview, I notice that I’m a really fast speaker, so I have to kind of slow myself down. It’s the things you learn about yourself that help you get your idea across.

“Now I work with guys who don’t speak any English. They speak Arabic or Serbian or Spanish and I’m just like, ‘If I don’t speak their language, how do I get my point across?’ I look back to some of the things I learned at Westmont and think, ‘Okay, body movements are important, but how do I shape myself in a certain area? Do I look at them straight on?’ All these things that Coach (John) Moore really helped us out with when I was there.”

It’s these skills that he learned as a kinesiology major at Westmont, along with a strong work ethic he developed long before becoming a Warrior, that have helped pave his path to the top of the strength and conditioning profession in American soccer.

In the spring of 2008 as a senior at Valencia High School, Guzman, who also played slot receiver for the Vikings’ football team, drove to Santa Barbara twice a week to train with Westmont men’s soccer, earning himself a roster spot on the Warriors for the upcoming fall season.

“Daniel's athletic expertise had been primarily developed in other sports, so there was some ground to make up,” Westmont men’s soccer head coach Dave Wolf said. “He set about that task straight away and never relented. It's one thing to say you are willing to put in extra time, but another thing entirely to make choice after choice that reflects that intention. He put in the time.”

Guzman’s hard work eventually earned him a scholarship and he was selected as a team captain for his senior season in 2011. Guzman, who was listed as a midfielder but also played outside back and center forward, made 42 appearances (12 starts) in his Warrior career, scoring four goals and tallying one assist.

“Every single day of training, I would go like an hour-and-a-half to an hour early and work with the assistant coach (Dana Weymouth) or with Wolfy,” Guzman said. “I was just super grateful to have a coaching staff that was willing to develop me and work on some stuff they thought I was lacking (in).”

Guzman continued to display that strong work ethic after graduating from Westmont in 2012, beginning with his internship opportunity as a part-time coach at Athletes’ Performance (EXOS). The company was contracted with the LA Galaxy, offering Guzman his first taste of the professional soccer world in the middle of the 2014 season.

“I worked with the second team for several months,” Guzman said of his role with the LA Galaxy. “It was the first time they had a USL (United Soccer League) team and within our EXOS group, none of the other coaches, the actual senior coaches, wanted to do it. I was like, ‘100% I’ll do it; I’ll do it for free. I don’t care, I would love the opportunity.’ So thankfully I did that because getting exposure to the head coach of the second team, he’s the one who spoke highly of me to (Galaxy Head Coach) Bruce (Arena) in the first team.”

As Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Guzman helped the Galaxy win the MLS Cup in 2014 and make playoff appearances the following two seasons. Then in 2017, when Galaxy Head Coach Bruce Arena took over the helm of the USMNT for a second stint in charge, he took Guzman along with him.

Guzman said that before the opportunity presented itself, his wife Lauren, who also graduated from Westmont in 2012, was initially concerned about the prospect of her husband taking a job with the national team because of the significant amount of travel it required.

“It was really more of a decision for me and my wife. I was never going to make a unilateral decision,” Guzman said. “As the years pass, we talk about it and we talk about the travel. She really wasn’t that into it. She just thought, “It’s a lot of travel. I don’t think I want us to do that.’ I was like, ‘Okay, fair enough. You’re a part of this too and I don’t need to go chasing these random jobs.’”

But after additional conversations and prayer, the couple realized it was an opportunity of a lifetime.

“Before that opportunity came up, we were joking about it and she was like, ‘I don’t know what’s happening, but I’ve been praying about it and I feel like if it ever came up I’d be okay with it,’” Guzman said. “At this point, we had no idea that this would happen, so as soon as it did happen and the conversation started, it was an easier one for me and my wife because God had already been in it and we had this conversation.

“She was like, ‘I think you should. It’s going to be difficult and a lot of travel, but when are you going to have this opportunity again?’ It was something I just felt really confident about.”

With the USMNT, Guzman admitted it was difficult to perform developmental strength and conditioning work with players because of the intermittent time he spent with them. He said he would only be with the players for about 16 days at a time for periodic national team camps, with the players then returning to their respective club teams for most of the year. Yet, he believes he grew a lot from the experience.

“There were some challenges there and it was kind of an exhausting year, but it was rewarding,” Guzman said. “We won the Gold Cup and just the experience of working with a bunch of different American players who play all over the world, then they’ve got to come together.

“How can we get them best prepared for a game that’s going to happen in five days or 10 days? And you have a very short period of time to do that. I think that part was beneficial and I grew a lot there. As far as the logistics of planning and prepping, I had a lot of growth in that area, which was able to help me at LAFC.”

After Guzman helped the USMNT win the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2017, the U.S. was unable to overcome a slow start to World Cup qualifying that began under the previous regime, falling just short of reaching the World Cup after a road loss to Trinidad and Tobago in the team’s final qualifying match.

Within a couple weeks after that defeat, Guzman said he received a phone call from LAFC Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager John Thorrington, whose father Peter served as the chair of the Westmont Board of Trustees for six years and brother Mark played for Westmont men’s soccer from 2000-03. Westmont’s soccer and track fields are named after the Thorrington family.

“I was super thankful because I knew that at some point this was going to end because we didn’t qualify for the World Cup, so you’ve got to find the next job,” said Guzman, who said he had a few interactions with LAFC Head Coach Bob Bradley during World Cup qualifying in Orlando. “I think there was some confidence in there as well because once I got the call from John, I knew there was some interest on that end. Knowing Bob (Bradley) now, he does his homework. He’s a very, very intelligent man. He does his research on who he’s bringing in and what it takes to be on his staff.

“So I was pretty thankful because I’m just guessing that he talked to a lot of people. Down the road, I heard that he was talking to players and coaches, backroom staff. He was talking to a lot of people about every position, so he gave me confidence that the way that I carry myself and the way I went about my work, that people spoke highly of me. So that happened pretty quick. As soon as we had some conversations, I felt like it was the right fit. I was all in and ready to go.”

As Head Performance Coach for LAFC, Guzman has a multitude of responsibilities. He said a typical day for him involves a morning meeting with the team’s Performance Director, Head of Sports Science, Head of Rehabilitation and athletic trainers to get them all on the same page for the day ahead. In addition, he is in charge of the team’s lifting programs designed to increase physiological capacities and leading exercises devised to improve injury resilience.

After also communicating with the coaching staff, Guzman said he tailors his team warm ups to align with the practice plan for the day. Then during practice if he’s not working on the side with players who may be working their way back to full fitness and are not in the full training session, he said he observes the team to make sure what he’s implementing is actually benefitting the players.

“He’s always challenging me,” Guzman said of Bradley. “Whether it’s in the warmups, which some people might say that’s got to be pretty easy – have the guys stretch, move around, get it done. No, he’s talking about themes and how does this play into what the training plan is for the day and the overall picture of what’s development like.”

On game days, in addition to prepping players for the game and being in charge of the team warmup, Guzman said he is on the sideline paying attention to what the coaches are saying – that way he can anticipate which players will sub into the game and when, so he can ensure that they are prepared to enter when called upon.

“It’s actually great to have someone that’s not just willing, but they actually care about what you offer to the team and ‘Here’s what’s going to make us better,’” Guzman continued about LAFC’s Head Coach. “Because otherwise, if you don’t have a seat at the table, it’s like why are you there if you’re not there to help people?”

Guzman, now in his seventh season working in professional soccer, has served alongside two of the finest coaches in American soccer history, Arena and Bradley, whom Guzman said ask a lot of questions in their pursuit to always get better.

“I think the best thing is they’re both just really good people,” Guzman said. “They’re whole life is soccer, football, building up these great teams and winning championships. But, if you take that away a little bit, they’re still really, really good people and good mentors.

“People enjoy being around them. You feel like you’re getting better all the time, so I think those are some of the biggest benefits I’ve taken away.”

Guzman himself has proven to be one of the best in the country in the strength and conditioning industry, given his success in professional soccer. He has played a key role in the emergence of LAFC, which has taken the MLS by storm since its inaugural season in 2018.

Thanks to Guzman’s esteemed position within the organization, Westmont men’s soccer had the opportunity to visit LAFC and get a behind-the-scenes look at team training sessions, which Wolf is appreciative of.

“The access to LAFC has been both invaluable and also a real honor,” Wolf said. “It's clearly the finest professional football organization in this country, and they have been gracious to Westmont College men's soccer, largely because of Daniel. It's very motivating to watch the very best work and train, and not surprisingly, they have a number of first-rate human beings in their organization.”

Guzman’s continued connection to Westmont men’s soccer is part of the college’s strong alumni network, but in particular that within the men’s soccer program.

“The alumni network is actually incredibly strong,” Guzman said. “You hear it when you’re there and you kind of see it when guys come around, but you don’t actually understand it until you’re not on the team anymore. I can literally call anybody and somebody will answer, somebody will connect you with someone else.

“So the alumni network, especially within the Westmont Warrior soccer program, is just so strong and it’s cool to see the family and how everybody connects no matter what state of life you’re at. I think that’s probably the best part of the story at the school for me.”

LAFC has been one of the best teams in the MLS the past two years, breaking records in each of its first two seasons in the league. In 2018, the team set a record for most points (57) by an expansion club in league history, earning the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Then in 2019, LAFC set the MLS record for most points (72) in a single regular season ever, winning the Supporters’ Shield trophy for earning the most points in the league, before reaching the Western Conference Finals.

The team began the 2020 season with a 1-0 win over Inter Miami CF and a 3-3 draw against Philadelphia Union before the league was suspended on March 12 due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Guzman said the shutdown was a challenge because of the unknowns surrounding how long the league would be paused for.

“The difficult part was that we didn’t know we’d be off for three months or whatever it was – I think it was 11 weeks,” Guzman said. “We didn’t know it’d be that much time. At first they said two weeks, so we just kind of thought, ‘Okay, we’ll plan for two weeks.’ We always try to plan with the end goal. So, ‘When’s the first game? We’ll plan backwards from there.’

“When you don’t have an end goal, once we realized it was going to keep on going, that made it a little bit more difficult because you’re just trying to plan and keep guys in a good space for a time eventually they would jump back in.”

Guzman said he had to be creative during the league hiatus to keep in touch with his players, utilizing multiple communication platforms and even having to use Google Maps to find grass for them to run on, since all MLS team training facilities were closed.

“The communication wasn’t difficult once you found the right method to reach a guy because we’re always in communication here and we have good relationships,” Guzman said. “We saw the fruit of that in the shutdown because it wasn’t like we didn’t have this relationship with a guy.

“We were able to text him and say, ‘I need you to get this done. Is it possible? How did you feel when you did it?’ That way we can kind of move forward from there, which was a lot easier once we got back into it.”

On July 8, the MLS became the first major American men’s professional league to resume play with its MLS is Back Tournament. The 24 participating MLS teams lived and played inside a “bubble” at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla.

“The bubble in hindsight was kind of like college all over again because there were no wives or girlfriends there,” Guzman said. “It was just you and your buddies playing footy and of course we had other work we had to do as well, where for the most part you’re in a hotel room or you’re on the training field or you’re going for a walk around the campus, which isn’t very big. On off days, there’s a little beach, so maybe you’re playing spikeball or volleyball or going for a swim.

“You definitely felt this kind of Band of Brothers mentality, where we’re all here, we’re all suffering in some way, whether it’s because we don’t enjoy the food or we miss our families. Whatever it is, we had a lot of freedoms taken away, but the fact is we’re all here together. We’re trying to win some games.”

LAFC advanced out of Group F and defeated the defending MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders in the Round of 16 before losing in the quarterfinals to eventual tournament runner-up Orlando City SC in penalty kicks.

Guzman said he was impressed with the team’s attitude throughout their experience in the MLS bubble. 

“It was definitely a good exercise in trusting each other and staying focused, because I’m sure it could have been easy for a lot of guys to say, ‘Forget this, I’m not going to try. What’s the point? Let’s just go home,’” Guzman said. “But it was amazing to see our guys and the focus they had, like ‘We’re here, we’re here to win. Let’s do it.’

“Of course, we didn’t pull it off in the end. We lost in penalties to Orlando, but the buildup to that point, I just thought the focus was really, really good which was cool to see.”

During his time away, Guzman said he missed his family – wife Lauren, along with their two kids, Ivy (2) and Theo (almost nine months).

“When we were at Westmont, everybody knew her in my opinion because she sang in chapel band,” Guzman said of his wife. “If you’re singing in chapel band, you’re like the most famous person at Westmont.”

LAFC resumes its regular season on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. with a match against crosstown rival LA Galaxy, Guzman’s former employers, in a matchup now commonly known as “El Tráfico.”

“They’re just always pretty spectacular games,” Guzman said of the rivalry matchup. “There’s definitely some intensity there which is good. Lot of different characters sometimes, but it’s always fun to compete against crosstown rivals, Westmont competing with Santa Barbara. It’s always fun no matter what and no matter what the history says, every game is brand new.

“It’s an interesting one, but LAFC all the way for me. No bad feelings towards the Galaxy. This is my team now. Through and through LAFC, but I’ve got a lot of good friends at Galaxy still.”

However, LAFC has its sights on much bigger goals than just taking down its local rivals.

“It’s a high standard here,” Guzman said. “The goal is always to get to MLS Cup, whatever that looks like this year. In the bubble, it was to win the bubble tournament. That didn’t happen, but I think it’s always to win trophies, which is honestly kind of the standard. So what does that look like this year? There’s no Open Cup, but we’ve got a playoff system, so first of all, can we win Supporters’ Shield? Can we be top of the league like we were last year? Then can we go after and win MLS Cup and be in a final, which we haven’t done yet.

“Something that I just really appreciate that Bob always says, is ‘Yes, you’re trying to win those trophies, but it’s also about stacking season after season after season,’” Guzman added. “It gives a good amount of focus because there really is no end goal because you’re always trying to improve your game.”

LAFC is well conditioned to do just that with Guzman as its Head Performance Coach.