Ualefi Rodrigues Dos Reis has been with the Chattanooga Red Wolves since the beginning.
The 10th player signed by the Red Wolves, Ualefi — as is often the case with Brazilian soccer players, the Sao Paulo native is known by a single name — is the lone remaining member of the initial club from the 2019 USL League One season.
The 29-year-old midfielder has seen venue changes, leadership changes, stadium upgrades, 45 wins, 46 losses, 27 ties and basically everything that has happened along the way.
So no, the team captain isn’t going to panic at Chattanooga’s 3-7-2 start to its fifth season, which follows a run to the USL League One final last fall. He’s not going to stress over the team’s inability to produce on the road — the Red Wolves have been outscored 11-0 while going 0-5 away from CHI Memorial Stadium — or inconsistent scoring, with Chattanooga’s minus-nine goal differential a big reason why it sits 11th in the 12-team league standings with 11 points, just one more than Central Valley Fuego FC (3-7-1).
And while Ualefi isn’t panicking, neither is Ziggy Korytoski, his fourth head coach since coming to Chattanooga.
Korytoski is not Tim Hankinson, the club’s initial coach. He’s definitely not Jimmy Obleda, who took over ahead of the 2020 season but was suspended by USL League One at midseason last year and never returned to the field, with local coaching legend Jimmy Weekley taking over the Red Wolves on an interim basis.
Korytoski’s hire was announced in December, and offseason roster moves led to 16 new players joining the Red Wolves.
“For me, the change has been nice. We have more confidence to play now,” Ualefi said last week. “Obleda is a nice guy, but sometimes I think it was too much because it put some nerves on us. Now I think we have more confidence and there isn’t as much pressure.”
Obleda was a far more animated coach. It was something the club seized upon, selling season tickets right behind the Red Wolves’ bench to people wanting to simply watch him in action. Korytoski is far more regal on the sideline, never showing much in the way of emotion.
His mindset is the same in evaluating the season to this point.
“It’s one game at a time,” Korytoski said. “Every one is a cup final for these guys. We know it’s a long season, and that’s why you never get too high or too low. I tell the guys that we need to respect the game and make sure that every time they step on the field they give their best.
“That’s the biggest thing I tell the guys, is that regardless of the score, regardless of the outcome, it’s your work that’s going to be remembered.”
Staff file photo by Olivia Ross / First-year Chattanooga Red Wolves coach Ziggy Korytoski is confident the team is making “nice strides” despite some early struggles in the USL League One franchise’s fifth season.A LONG SEASON
Korytoski calls himself a big believer in the process, which is key in a 30-game regular season. The first dozen games didn’t go all that well, with the Red Wolves shut out eight times and scoring just 10 goals total. But in USL League One, where parity has shown itself with a different champion each of the first four seasons and the standings still relatively tight with a third of this season over, Chattanooga isn’t out of the fight.
The Red Wolves may be next to last right now, but with the top six teams at the end of the regular season advancing to the playoffs, they’re only five points out of the top half of the standings. That’s the equivalent of one win and two draws.
So while Korytoski leads with his demeanor, his message is carried out on the pitch by players such as Ualefi, defender Mekeil Williams and goalkeeper Ricardo Jerez — seasoned veterans who have seen a lot and experienced a lot. Even last year, which ended with a runner-up finish to South Georgia Tormenta, wasn’t smooth from start to finish, with the Red Wolves under .500 after an inconsistent first half to the season.
“I think our younger guys watch our steps, so we need to be an example for them,” Ualefi said. “We need to stay stronger, tell the guys to keep their heads up and move forward because there’s a lot of games to go.”
Although they lost Wednesday night, 2-0 to Lexington in Kentucky, one week earlier the Red Wolves showed potential in a 2-0 home win against Forward Madison FC.
“I told them that we need to change our destiny, and performances like that give us confidence to move forward and we need to continue to play like we did, win games and get results at home and away,” Ualefi said last week. “We need to stop conceding goals. When we do, we’re close to winning games because we have dangerous guys on the attack.”
The effect of breaking through on offense has been obvious: When the Red Wolves have managed to score once in a match, they have managed to score at least twice. Ualefi’s emphasis on being better defensively, though, is demonstrated by the fact that in one of the two matches this season when the Red Wolves scored three goals, so did the opponent, resulting in a draw against Union Omaha on May 20 — and just one point in the standings instead of three.
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / The Chattanooga Red Wolves and coach Ziggy Korytoski, second from left, celebrate after Chevone Marsh scored during a home win against Forward Madison FC on June 7. The Red Wolves are 3-7-2 and 11th in the 12-team USL League One standings, and the club’s struggles have been especially noticeable on the road with an 0-5 record.‘THE RIGHT THING’
The next chance for Chattanooga to begin changing its on-field fortunes comes next Wednesday, another road test as they head to South Carolina to face the Greenville Triumph, which reached the league final each of the first three seasons. The next home match is June 24, against the Charlotte Independence, whose 22 points are currently tied with North Carolina for the league lead.
The schedule, however, will stretch across the summer and even into the fall as the regular season doesn’t conclude until mid-October. Korytoski remains patient and is focused on a big picture that goes beyond game day and the playing field.
“I haven’t changed anything from game one, other than add players, adding staff and dealing with injuries,” he said. “Every day I show up to work. This club has my heart and soul until they tell me I’m no longer the head coach of the Red Wolves, and that’s the integrity I live my life with, the integrity I want these guys to play with. We’re going to be good people, great for community, and we’re going to win some games. We’re going to do it because we’re going to do the right thing again and again and again.
“I believe in this world, successful people have a bit of character and integrity to them, and that’s why they end up at the top. Some sneak through and find ways, but this is a team that I want the whole community to be proud of on and off field, and I think they’re making nice strides.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.