Former Tampa Bay Rowdies player embraces new role as head coach

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - This time last year, Nicky Law was in the middle of his 17th season as a professional soccer player. 

The thought of retirement occasionally crept into the mind of the veteran midfielder.

Law, however, decided to forgo any official retirement and took a role as a player/coach in Huntsville, Alabama.

"I didn't really even have time to think about my own retirement as a player. It was onto a plane and coaching," Law recalls. 

The dual roles as a player and coach were a new challenge for a player who once stalked the pitches of the Premier League.

READ: Rowdies defenseman celebrates first goal with mom battling cancer

"I had played games earlier in the season and then as the season went on, I was just coaching at that point, really," said Law.

As it turns out, Law's time in Alabama wouldn't last, thanks to a call from his former team here in Tampa Bay. 

"It was a crazy, whirlwind week out of the blue, as you can imagine," said Law.

It wasn't long after that call that Law returned to Tampa for the head coaching vacancy with the Rowdies left by Neill Collins departure.

Just a month into his coaching career, Law is now the head coach of one of the most successful teams in the USL Championship. 

READ: Rowdies coach, Neill Collins, departs for Barnsley FC job

"It happened, obviously, a lot quicker than I imagined," Law joked.

It was also an opportunity that seemed improbable, if not impossible when Law was still a player for the team he now coaches.

"I hoped, obviously, that I'd be back here, one day, in a role," Law admits.

"It was something that we spoke about when I left about the possibility of me being back in some kind of role at some point."

Having another former player and teammate at the helm for some Rowdies' players is a welcoming sign.

"What's unique about this experience is that Nicky was here last year as a player," said defenseman Forrest Lasso.

READ: Rowdies hit their stride as they climb up the standings

"He played for Neill (Collins), which we have in common, and he was teammates with half the guys here. He is one of our own."

Now, in his first head coaching job. Law knows he doesn't have to reinvent the wheel or stop the ship from sinking.

"I have to be myself, but I also know the standards here can't slip," said Law.

And so far, they haven't, with the Rowdies winning two of the three games Law has managed.

Next, Law and the Rowdies will look to make it three wins in their last four games with a trip to Tulsa FC on Friday night while sitting just two points behind Charleston Battery in the Eastern Conference standings.