Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Grassie gives thanks for US citizenship, opportunity
11/28/2019 2:48:00 PM | Men's Soccer, Word on the Herd
Marshall men's soccer coach officially became an American on Sept. 11
Note: This story originally appeared in the October 2019 issue of Thundering Herd Illustrated, the official magazine of Marshall University Athletics.
By Chuck McGill
As "The Star Spangled Banner" played over the speakers at Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex, Marshall men's soccer coach Chris Grassie let himself get lost in the moment.
"I had goosebumps when I heard the national anthem for the first time," Grassie said. "I must have heard it a million times at sporting events, then you hear it for the first time as an American citizen – it really hit me. I felt a little bit emotional."
Grassie, who is in his third season at Marshall, is a native of Newcastle upon-Tyne in the United Kingdom. He moved to Canada with his family when he was 15, and came to the United States to play college soccer at Alderson Broaddus. He returned to play professionally in England, came back to the United States, married his wife, Allison, here and then they had two children together. A championship-caliber coach, Grassie has accomplished plenty in his life.
But on Sept. 11, Grassie accomplished another goal: He became a United States citizen.
The list of reasons why, he said, is long. His wife is American. So, too, are his children. Because of frequent travels and international recruiting, the challenges of re-entering the country wore on him. And, even with politics as an interest outside of soccer, Grassie had never walked into a polling place and punched a ballot for a candidate he believed in.
All of that, he said, rolled into the rationale for driving to Pittsburgh on a weekday morning the day after a game – a nearly five-hour trip from Huntington – and then returning that evening as an American.
"It felt like the time," Grassie said. "This is my home."
Grassie was hired as a graduate at Marshall by former coach Bob Gray, and stayed here from 2004-06. He spent 2007-10 at the University of Michigan, and then returned to the Mountain State to lead the Division II program at the University of Charleston in 2011, where he compiled a 99-20-8 record in six seasons and made three consecutive Final Four appearances.
That catapulted Grassie to the Division I head coaching opportunity here at Marshall, where he replaced Gray, his former boss.
"I'm super thankful for the opportunities I have to coach and to do what I love and to be with the people that I love," Grassie said. "There's nowhere else I'd rather live."
Grassie's citizenship was so important to him that he booked the trip to Pittsburgh rather than waiting for an opening in Charleston, which might not have come until the middle of next year.
The Thundering Herd defeated East Tennessee State on a Tuesday night, and Grassie departed Wednesday morning for Pennsylvania by himself.
Grassie took the time in the car to reflect on his journey. He thought about all the times he returned to his adopted country and wished it was his forever home, and what it is going to feel like when he makes his next international recruiting trip.
"I'm looking forward to coming back into the country as an American; I think that's going to be quite a good moment," Grassie said.
Grassie said he "needs to have a say" with his vote, and he wanted to assure his family that he'd never leave their side. He wants to be at Marshall. He wants to live in Huntington. He wants to call this country his home.
"The best way to feel joy is to feel gratitude," Grassie said. "I'm thankful for the opportunity. We have amazing opportunities in this country to coach and to do the things that we love and to be part of great organizations like this that allow us to help students. I wanted to officially be part of it.
"I'm here now. This is where I want to be."