Nick Garcia's Thoughts as the Quakes Kickoff the Season

SS - Nick, are you getting settled in San Jose after the move out from Kansas City?
NG - Well, so far, so good. I finally have an apartment as of about two weeks ago, four hotels later and many a preseason trip. I'm getting used to everything out here, the training, stuff on the field and off the field. From that regard things are going pretty well. I was pretty active back in KC with several community service groups. One of the biggest one was one called CASA which is a Child Advocacy group and they had a gala out here in Santa Clara last weekend and myself and some of the people from the office attended. My wife and I enjoy giving back to the community and being involved with the community, it's not for everyone, but it's something we enjoy so that's how we do it.
SS - What do you attribute the key factors to the defense being pretty solid during preseason matches?
NG - I think we have a group of guys who have been in the league long enough to know what it takes to have a stingy defense, know how to win games. We work really hard and we're willing to do the brunt of the defending work for everybody else. Not to say that the midfield and forwards don't defend, but thats our job first and foremost and we take pride in keeping the other team off the scoreboard. For us, I think if we can do that our chances of winning games will be pretty good this season.
SS - You had a very good partnership in central defense with Jimmy Conrad, how do you feel that's developing with Ryan Cochrane?
NG - I think it's going great. I have a lot of respect for Ryan, obviously he's done well in Houston and it shows in his commitment everyday in practice and in the games. I think we take the same mindset when we play, we have to be stingy, we have to work hard. Whether it's Joe Cannon behind us, or Jason Hernandez and James Riley next to us, those guys are also putting in the work and are hungry to get out there and prove to the naysayers that we are for real and we're not just some regular expansion team that everybody else can stomp on.
What do you think of all the MLS Season predictions that are showing the Quakes as the 14th best team in the league?
NG - Sure, I love it! Let those who know everything say the most. I think we like it. No one expects much from us, there's not a lot of pressure on us. Our hopes and aspirations are to make it to the playoffs and to surprise and fool a lot of people. Let people think what they want right now. We know as a team we're for real and we're here to prove it.
Who are some of the younger players on the team that have impressed you most throughout preseason preparations?
NG - For me, Matt Hatzke. He's a kid out of Santa Clara University who has done extremely well for us. I would hope to see that he gets some experience in some games throughout the year. Shea Salinas is an obvious answer for us as well.
Of the various coaches you've played for in your career, how do you feel about Frank Yallop so far?
NG - For me, I'd put him up there with the best of them. He's a great player's coach. He manages the player's well. He leaves it up to us to a certain extent to take responsibility for what we do. He's definitely the brains behind the machine, but at the same time he allows us to have some individual characteristics that maybe other coaches would be more hands on with.
SS - What are your thoughts on the match-up with the Galaxy this Thursday?
NG - I'm looking forward to it. Even though they got beat 4 - nothing, I don't think it's an indication of how they are gong to be this season. It's their first game, they were on the road, other issues were also probably at hand. But for us it's our first game as a reborn team and we're going to go into LA expecting at least a tie if not a win.