SANDY, Utah – The goal as an incoming assistant coach to Mike Petke for Real Monarchs SLC was clear for Mark Briggs when he arrived. Work hard and learn from a coach that had an MLS Supporters’ Shield on his resume, as the duo entered preseason with a revamped roster that began the Monarchs’ third year with heightened expectations.

“I just wanted to take it as a learning point – be his assistant and gain as much knowledge off him as I possibly could – and then take it into myself being a head coach in the future again,” said Briggs recently. “That came around, obviously, pretty quickly, a lot quicker than I’d anticipated, and I guess we just went from there.”

Just one game into the Monarchs’ season, things quickly started moving. Petke’s appointment on March 29 as Real Salt Lake’s Head Coach thrust Briggs into becoming the Monarchs’ Head Coach. From there, the former West Bromwich Albion player and Wilmington Hammerheads FC Head Coach picked up the baton and ran with it.

Briggs’ consistent message of attention to detail and instilling the work ethic that made him a reliable professional as a player while maximizing the potential of a talented roster certainly paid dividends. It resulted in Real claiming the USL Regular Season Championship and Briggs, himself, the USL Coach of the Year award after a season that saw the club make breakthroughs on the field to finish as one of the most attractive and successful sides in the USL’s history.

The learning curve for the 35-year-old, only four years removed from his final season as a player, was certainly a steep one, but the work ethic Briggs brought saw him become a quick study on what it meant to be part of a broader organization that will pay dividends in the future.

“I think you learn every game in this business, and especially with me, being one of the younger coaches around, I think it’s important that I have to learn,” said Briggs. “I think I learned how to manage different scenarios, I had a lot thrown at me this year from all sorts of angles, from dealing with the MLS and USL organization for the first time, managing the movement of the players between both rosters, obviously being involved with the front office and things like that – that was new – and then just managing players who have got big personalities, players who earn good money.”

READ MORE: Briggs Named Coach of the Year

In the present, though, Briggs was able to get the best out of a squad that brought together numerous players who’d had success elsewhere. Providing a balance of focus and fun, the Monarchs tore to the top of the Western Conference thanks to a league-record nine-game winning streak of the kind that Briggs had experienced as a player, including in Wilmington’s stellar 2009 season in the USL Second Division. That brought a new perspective to his position as Real’s Head Coach.

“As a manager, it’s a totally different viewpoint,” Briggs said. “It was about keeping the players focused and making them understand that every day they come into work, and they haven’t achieved anything until there’s a trophy next to us, and I think that was the mentality that I tried to instill into the roster, and I think, eventually, the players got a hold of that. The players took it in their stride, and it helped us in having that successful season.”

From Chandler Hoffman’s regular-season high 16 goals to fellow USL All-League First Team selection Sebastian Velasquez’s contributions in midfield and seeing both goalkeeper Connor Sparrow and midfielder Nick Besler earn MLS contracts in midseason, Briggs’ approach to man-management allowed the side to thrive while also allowing players to accomplish the goals they were seeking.

“I really loved the group that we had, camaraderie we had,” said Briggs. “It was about working, but I think it’s very important that we do a job that’s one of the best in the world, and it’s important to never take it for granted. It’s important to work hard, but it’s also important to have fun with it and enjoy what you do for a living. When it was time to work, everybody understood the standards and what was expected, but I also had days when I let them relax and let them have fun and enjoy what we do.”

After clinching the regular season title with two games to spare, the Monarchs’ season came to what Briggs believes was a premature end at the hands of Sacramento Republic FC in the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2017 USL Cup Playoffs in a penalty shootout. As disappointing as the loss was, the future looks bright for both Briggs and the Monarchs with the side set to move into its new home in Herriman, Utah, for the 2018 season.

Briggs and the Real organization are already hard at work looking at potential new additions to the squad for next season, with the standard for where the club expects to be now set after a stellar 2017.

“I think we’re fortunate that a number of players liked the way that we played this year and we have a number of options out there who are interested in coming and playing for the Monarchs,” said Briggs. “It makes the offseason fun. There’s a lot of interesting conversations about players I value very highly and have watched from afar, so it’s good in that regard. The standard has now been set, and we have to do better than we have next year, and I think it’s important that players coming in here understand those standards and understand the accountability that’s put on their head.”

As far as he could go in his coaching career, Briggs is certainly happy to be part of RSL’s organization. The recent announcement of the arrival of an NWSL club next spring is a welcome addition for all, and the goals for all the organization’s teams are now set extremely high.

With the investment made by Dell Loy Hansen and RSL’s leadership at all levels, there’s no place Briggs would rather be to continue his education as a coach and as a leader.

“I’m extremely fortunate to have come to this organization at a time when it’s extremely exciting,” said Briggs. “Mike’s obviously doing great things with the first team, and I foresee a very good season next year, and hopefully we can do great things with the Monarchs, and then with the NWSL team, I’m sure we’re going to have a good coach in there. They’re going to bring in good players so they can try to be successful there, and then we have the academy here. We have everything together so we can create the culture we want, the football club we want.

“What Dell Loy has done for this state and this community is second to none. The facility that he’s built is world-class. It’s going to be amazing to go to work every day in that facility, and I think for any footballer that comes and is part of the RSL organization, they’re going to be excited to use those facilities and have everything to hand for them to be successful. It’s amazing, it’s really exciting to be part of it, and I hope that I’m part of it for a very long time.”