It’s a new era for Sporting KC. Here’s what has changed under new leadership

Sporting Kansas City’s organizational overhaul is multifaceted, but one of the pillars of the pro soccer club’s rebuild is an increase in manpower and other resources.

The changes are noticeable on the team’s practice fields at the Compass Minerals National Performance Center.

For the first time since the signature, state-of-the-art facility opened in 2018, neither Peter Vermes (former head coach/manager) nor Kerry Zavagnin (key assistant/interim head coach after Vermes’ dismissal last year) are on hand as players go through training.

That fact alone makes this a decidedly new era for Sporting KC. But there are other changes, too, some less subtle than others. Drones buzz overhead during practices, collecting video and other data. Analysts operate the small, remote aircraft from a balcony overlooking the fields.

Nearly twice as many staff members were present at a recent training session as compared to 2025. And about a dozen players are new to the organization.

What hasn’t changed as new head coach Raphael Wicky settles in? Goals and expectations. For Sporting KC, those are the same as they’ve always been.

The process for achieving them, however? Entirely new.

“We have way more manpower,” said assistant coach Ash Wallace. He’s been with Sporting since 2012, starting out as a video analyst and now as a member of the first-team coaching staff.

Getting Wicky with it

A native of Switzerland, Wicky, 48, has brought in five new assistant coaches: Wallace, Edu Rubio, former MLS head coach Dominic Kinnear, former Sporting KC star Roger Espinoza and goalkeepers coach Darrin MacLeod.

Two new hires in performance analysis — Kyle Emerick and Chris Atkins — are also first team-focused.

By the time Vermes departed Sporting KC last season, the only coaches who remained with the organization were Zavagnin, Wallace, Espinoza and then-goalkeepers coach Alec Dufty.

That meant a staff of four was running the show ... as opposed to the eight Sporting has on hand for the 2026 season. That season began last Saturday with a road loss to the San Jose Earthquakes.

Sporting KC’s home opener is Saturday at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. Sporting plays host to the Columbus Crew in a match slated to kick off at 7:30 p.m. Central Time.

Some of the first team’s newfound leadership sprang from a bifurcation of the front-office and coaching staff. Vermes previously sat atop both sides of the organizational flow chart.

Sporting KC’s current injury situation at right-back provides an example of how things work today. Defender Justin Reynolds hurt a hamstring in last week’s opener. Now, instead of preparing drills, working 1-on-1 with players or handling advanced-scouting responsibilities, certain staffers have switched gears to ensure replacements are ready should the roster sustain another injury at right-back.

A time of rebuilding

With dwindling staff in recent years, some of the successful internal systems that helped Sporting KC win the 2013 MLS Cup had fallen apart.

In his role of interim head coach through most of the 2025 MLS season, Zavagnin would deflect questions about apparent behind-the-scenes unease, saying he wasn’t going to make excuses for the team’s poor play.

But it was clear from talking to just about anyone in the building last year that the situation was worrisome and untenable.

“Last year was just unmanageable,” Wallace said. “I don’t know how we ended up doing that. It was just crazy.”

Wallace said that by the end of 2025, his fitness tracker showed he was sleeping less than 5 hours a night.

So this is indeed a new era for Sporting KC. Staffing increases portend not only more sleep for assistant coaches like Wallace, but also more intensive coaching for a young team that will need it in order to develop from week to week.

Changes are apparent in how training is organized, the way such sessions are run and what happens before and after the players take the field for practice. They watch film of recent drills before each session, then make necessary adjustments.

Said forward Stephen Afrifa, “It makes it easier for us to improve ourselves.”

Attention to detail

A player eager to talk with a coach about a specific aspect of his game would first speak with the assistant most focused on that area of concern. Video analysts will cut clips for the player and even curate video reports based on what certain players desire ahead of each match.

Veteran defender Jake Davis said the attention to detail is appreciated.

“It’s like putting the fences on (and saying), ‘Don’t go outside the boundaries,’” he said. “But they’ll give us our freedom. People can express themselves in that format while staying disciplined.”

Afrifa is an interesting case as Sporting KC seeks to improve on its 0-1 start to the year, and years of missing the MLS playoffs. He seemed poised for a breakout 2025 campaign after a strong showing in 2024, when — in a little over 1,000 minutes across all competitions — he had 10 goal contributions (six goals and four assists).

Afrifa made just 10 appearances last season, playing a mere 221 minutes. If he experiences the bounce-back season both he and Sporting crave in 2026, the reasons might be said to include the club’s personnel changes and overall new environment.

“I had a lot of time to reflect during the offseason,” Afrifa said. “I understood the issues that I had with myself and what the coaches wanted from me that I couldn’t deliver on.”

Afrifa might’ve started the opening day game last weekend, but a minor injury kept him from playing. He should return to the fold quickly and is excited about the club’s resources now.

“The more people (working in SKC coaching and analysis), the better,” he said. “We just have to make sure that we utilize them and take advantage of that.”

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.

This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 6:00 AM.