A loud voice carried across the field at Orlando City training Tuesday, but Martín Perelman was nowhere near the touchline.This time, though, the 40-year-old Argentine wasn’t on the field delivering instructions. Moments earlier, he had climbed a 20-foot aluminum coaching tower. It’s been a common feat since the start of the year — one that has become central to how he teaches, organizes and communicates with his players, particularly now that he has taken over as interim coach.”When we go more in a tactical task or drill, I like to go high and coach from there because I have a better perspective,” said Perelman. “I can be more effective in the interventions and at the end of the day, the important thing is to earn time. If I can have clearness and better perspective from up, I can be more effective in my interventions, and I can earn time for my players on the field.” Perelman, who was recently appointed interim coach of the Lions, said the platform was presented to him by former head coach Oscar Pareja at the start of the year. But it wasn’t the first time that Perelman worked from a high-rise platform. During his time as an assistant coach for the reserve team of Argentina’s Banfield, Perelman said he would record video from a similar, and even higher, tower. Still, familiarity didn’t erase the anxiety.“Oscar said it was for me, and all I could think was, ‘Here we go again,’” Perelman jokingly said.That reaction came from a simple truth: Perelman is afraid of heights.“But after a while, I got used to it,” he said. “I started using it more to face my fear, and I did it. Now I’m happy, also because it’s useful.”Mike Gramajo is an Assignment Editor and Sportswriter at WESH 2, who has covered the Orlando soccer scene since 2012. You can follow his coverage over on X and Instagram.
KISSIMMEE, Fla. —
A loud voice carried across the field at Orlando City training Tuesday, but Martín Perelman was nowhere near the touchline.
This time, though, the 40-year-old Argentine wasn’t on the field delivering instructions. Moments earlier, he had climbed a 20-foot aluminum coaching tower.
It’s been a common feat since the start of the year — one that has become central to how he teaches, organizes and communicates with his players, particularly now that he has taken over as interim coach.
“When we go more in a tactical task or drill, I like to go high and coach from there because I have a better perspective,” said Perelman. “I can be more effective in the interventions and at the end of the day, the important thing is to earn time. If I can have clearness and better perspective from up, I can be more effective in my interventions, and I can earn time for my players on the field.”
Perelman, who was recently appointed interim coach of the Lions, said the platform was presented to him by former head coach Oscar Pareja at the start of the year.
But it wasn’t the first time that Perelman worked from a high-rise platform. During his time as an assistant coach for the reserve team of Argentina’s Banfield, Perelman said he would record video from a similar, and even higher, tower.
Still, familiarity didn’t erase the anxiety.
“Oscar said it was for me, and all I could think was, ‘Here we go again,’” Perelman jokingly said.
That reaction came from a simple truth: Perelman is afraid of heights.
“But after a while, I got used to it,” he said. “I started using it more to face my fear, and I did it. Now I’m happy, also because it’s useful.”
Mike Gramajo is an Assignment Editor and Sportswriter at WESH 2, who has covered the Orlando soccer scene since 2012. You can follow his coverage over on X and Instagram.