HOUSTON – Just in the nick of time, the Houston Dynamo have agreed to a deal with Brian Ching to keep him in an orange jersey for the remainder of the 2013 season. And he'll also be adding "coach" to his job description.
The option on Ching’s current deal expires on Friday, but his new deal will run through Dec. 31 and will officially make the veteran forward a player-coach this season, MLSsoccer.com has learned
Ching had been in negotiations with the Dynamo this offseason to come to a deal that works for both sides. While they left it late, the two sides came to an agreement and Ching is happy to get things to the point where all he has to focus on now is soccer.
“It was getting stressful with it being the last day of my contract and the first game being Saturday,” Ching told MLSsoccer.com by phone. "It was something that’s played on my mind the past few days quite a bit.
“I don’t think my role will change much,” Ching added. “Obviously, I’ve always kind of helped the younger guys come along. I think that’s going to continue to be my role, to help coach the guys on the field and give them pointers. I’ll have to talk to [head coach Dominic Kinnear] as far as that goes, and [president Chris Canetti] to sort out the other responsibilities.”
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Ching is one of three original Dynamo players – along with Brad Davis and Ricardo Clark – who remain on the roster, and only Ching and Davis have been with the club during its entire run since it arrived from San Jose prior to the 2006 season. The Hawaii native leads is the all-time team leader in goals scored with 56 and has served as captain.
Ching and the Dynamo kick off their eighth season on Saturday when they host D.C. United in their regular-season opener at BBVA Compass Stadium (8 pm ET, NBC Sports Network, live chat on MLSsoccer.com).
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.
