This story was originally published in New England Soccer Journal. Hartford Athletic supporters can use this special link for 25% off either a year-long digital or all-access subscription. Launched in March 2013, New England Soccer Journal covers youth soccer up to the professional ranks across the entire region. Click here for more info and to subscribe.
When Reno 1868 FC decided to cease operations following the 2020 USL Championship season, it jolted defender Thomas Janjigian.
“It’s something that surprised me in the moment because we were a very solid team, and we were doing well,” said Janjigian, who played four seasons in northern Nevada, following a standout college career at UC-Irvine.
Reno had a record of 62-26-28 and earned playoff berths in all four campaigns since its 2017 inception. The club, however, believed it needed a soccer-specific stadium to compete in the current iteration of the USL Championship as opposed to the minor-league baseball stadium that served as its home. However, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic prospect of a soccer stadium went from challenging to impossible.
Before his only professional home closed its doors, Janjigian started to entertain the notion of leaving and trying his luck with a new club. But now, without the option to return to Reno, Janjigian’s full attention turned to finding a place to ply his trade. His agent started talking to Luiz Silva, then the director of scouting and performance analysis for Hartford Athletic, who was helping to shape the squad ahead of its third season.
“Luiz was very interested in me and the way I played,” Janjigian said. “And to be honest, I didn’t have many opportunities to go elsewhere.”
With a fit for club and player, the 26-year-old Janjigian signed with Hartford. He packed his bags for Connecticut, sold on the club’s burgeoning project in the wake of a playoff appearance in 2020. For the California-born Janjigian, the farthest east he had been was playing at the University of Maryland in an NCAA tournament match in 2013 during his freshman season at UC-Irvine.
“It’s definitely a different vibe,” Janjigian said. “I’m just a California boy at heart.”
Janjigian settled in West Hartford with his fiancée and two dogs, which helped with his acclimation to Connecticut. Many of the club’s other players also live in the suburban town.
“This team has great team chemistry,” Janjigian said. “I’ve been in Reno for four years, and I feel like this team is just stronger together than all the other teams I’ve been with in terms of just getting to know each other.”
Ultimately, Janjigian could be content in Connecticut off the pitch, but he is also here to perform well on it. Janjigian has started in all but one of Hartford’s matches this season as the left center back.
“I’m very composed on the ball, and I can find the right pass,” Janjigian said. “I feel that allows me to be very comfortable in a lot of positions. I have a very powerful left foot, and I can distribute very well so that just helps increase the quality that I bring.”
On July 10, two minutes into second-half stoppage time, Janjigian showed just how potent his left foot is by rocketing home an equalizer from well outside the penalty area against New York Red Bulls II.
First-year Hartford coach Harry Watling said as far as ball-playing center backs go in the USL Championship, “you won’t get anyone better than” Janjigian. The long-range goal additionally reveals the depth of Janjigian’s potential.
“That shows you how good of a player he is, because that was a really cultured finish,” Watling said.
Watling said Janjigian permeates California cool — “really chill guy, really laid back, just gets on with it, a lovely bloke” — until he steps between the white lines for training and matches.
“When he crosses the white line, he changes into a bit of an animal — his intensity and his aggression go up, so what you’ve got there is a real top-level potential athlete, who’s got a little bit of everything,” Watling said. “He sees the game three seconds ahead of everyone else. He reads (the game) really well. That’s why his positioning is so good and why his pass selection and pass execution is so good as well.”
Watling said when he watched video of Janjigian with Reno, his pass selection was “safe.”
“(Janjigian) is a perfectionist, but I think prior to him coming in, from the footage I saw, he would just play a simple diagonal pass and would be happy with that,” Watling said. “Now he’s looking at more detail.”
Part of that detail, according to Janjigian, is being more direct in his play. However, that does not mean that Janjigian is playing long balls every time, either.
“When I was younger, I would just settle for the easier passes,” said Janjigian, who has attempted a team-high 732 passes.
Janjigian said that Watling gives the players confidence via freedom to play to their strengths.
“He is a very personable coach and all about getting you in the right mindset for the games, and a huge thing that he always talks about is confidence,” Janjigian said. “I feel like he puts a lot of confidence in guys just to have the freedom to play how they want on the field.”
Janjigian said the experience of Reno folding makes it “very tough to think long term” about playing anywhere, in addition to the business side of soccer, where a club could simply decide to move on to a different player. Still, Janjigian is an optimistic, long-term planner by nature.
“I always try to think long term,” Janjigian said. “I would be happy staying here for multiple years, definitely, but it’s just whether the club wants it, and they see me performing for that long.”
This story was originally published in New England Soccer Journal. Hartford Athletic supporters can use this special link for 25% off either a year-long digital or all-access subscription. Launched in March 2013, New England Soccer Journal covers youth soccer up to the professional ranks across the entire region. Click here for more info and to subscribe.
When Reno 1868 FC decided to cease operations following the 2020 USL Championship season, it jolted defender Thomas Janjigian.
“It’s something that surprised me in the moment because we were a very solid team, and we were doing well,” said Janjigian, who played four seasons in northern Nevada, following a standout college career at UC-Irvine.
Reno had a record of 62-26-28 and earned playoff berths in all four campaigns since its 2017 inception. The club, however, believed it needed a soccer-specific stadium to compete in the current iteration of the USL Championship as opposed to the minor-league baseball stadium that served as its home. However, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic prospect of a soccer stadium went from challenging to impossible.
Before his only professional home closed its doors, Janjigian started to entertain the notion of leaving and trying his luck with a new club. But now, without the option to return to Reno, Janjigian’s full attention turned to finding a place to ply his trade. His agent started talking to Luiz Silva, then the director of scouting and performance analysis for Hartford Athletic, who was helping to shape the squad ahead of its third season.
“Luiz was very interested in me and the way I played,” Janjigian said. “And to be honest, I didn’t have many opportunities to go elsewhere.”
With a fit for club and player, the 26-year-old Janjigian signed with Hartford. He packed his bags for Connecticut, sold on the club’s burgeoning project in the wake of a playoff appearance in 2020. For the California-born Janjigian, the farthest east he had been was playing at the University of Maryland in an NCAA tournament match in 2013 during his freshman season at UC-Irvine.
“It’s definitely a different vibe,” Janjigian said. “I’m just a California boy at heart.”
Janjigian settled in West Hartford with his fiancée and two dogs, which helped with his acclimation to Connecticut. Many of the club’s other players also live in the suburban town.
“This team has great team chemistry,” Janjigian said. “I’ve been in Reno for four years, and I feel like this team is just stronger together than all the other teams I’ve been with in terms of just getting to know each other.”
Ultimately, Janjigian could be content in Connecticut off the pitch, but he is also here to perform well on it. Janjigian has started in all but one of Hartford’s matches this season as the left center back.
“I’m very composed on the ball, and I can find the right pass,” Janjigian said. “I feel that allows me to be very comfortable in a lot of positions. I have a very powerful left foot, and I can distribute very well so that just helps increase the quality that I bring.”
On July 10, two minutes into second-half stoppage time, Janjigian showed just how potent his left foot is by rocketing home an equalizer from well outside the penalty area against New York Red Bulls II.
First-year Hartford coach Harry Watling said as far as ball-playing center backs go in the USL Championship, “you won’t get anyone better than” Janjigian. The long-range goal additionally reveals the depth of Janjigian’s potential.
“That shows you how good of a player he is, because that was a really cultured finish,” Watling said.
Watling said Janjigian permeates California cool — “really chill guy, really laid back, just gets on with it, a lovely bloke” — until he steps between the white lines for training and matches.
“When he crosses the white line, he changes into a bit of an animal — his intensity and his aggression go up, so what you’ve got there is a real top-level potential athlete, who’s got a little bit of everything,” Watling said. “He sees the game three seconds ahead of everyone else. He reads (the game) really well. That’s why his positioning is so good and why his pass selection and pass execution is so good as well.”
Watling said when he watched video of Janjigian with Reno, his pass selection was “safe.”
“(Janjigian) is a perfectionist, but I think prior to him coming in, from the footage I saw, he would just play a simple diagonal pass and would be happy with that,” Watling said. “Now he’s looking at more detail.”
Part of that detail, according to Janjigian, is being more direct in his play. However, that does not mean that Janjigian is playing long balls every time, either.
“When I was younger, I would just settle for the easier passes,” said Janjigian, who has attempted a team-high 732 passes.
Janjigian said that Watling gives the players confidence via freedom to play to their strengths.
“He is a very personable coach and all about getting you in the right mindset for the games, and a huge thing that he always talks about is confidence,” Janjigian said. “I feel like he puts a lot of confidence in guys just to have the freedom to play how they want on the field.”
Janjigian said the experience of Reno folding makes it “very tough to think long term” about playing anywhere, in addition to the business side of soccer, where a club could simply decide to move on to a different player. Still, Janjigian is an optimistic, long-term planner by nature.
“I always try to think long term,” Janjigian said. “I would be happy staying here for multiple years, definitely, but it’s just whether the club wants it, and they see me performing for that long.”
