At the start of his career, Donny Toia was a forward. He spent two years playing in the Real Salt Lake academy before signing with Salt Lake City as their first homegrown player. In the year that he spent at Real Salt Lake, Jason Kreis was the head coach. And he thought it would be beneficial to transition Toia from a forward to a defender.
“I was a forward and Jason [Kreis] converted me to a left back at the time, for the one year I was with him at Salt Lake [City],” Toia said. “It was a little bit different because your mindset is completely different. Just attacking and going forward and trying to score goals and now you’re on the opposite trying to defend the goals and make sure nothing gets past you. So, that part was a little tricky to get used to. But at the same time, I’ve always been that player that played offense and defense. And I worked my butt off to get there, and help the team out as much as possible.”
Toia said that his transition into a defender provided him with new opportunities. When he signed with Chivas USA in 2014, he was able to step up after the starting to defenders got injured. He took advantage of his opportunity and got noticed. Following his time with Chivas, Toia spent two years with the Montreal Impact where he made a total of 48 appearances.
“I never thought I was gonna be playing defender, but as of now, it’s been a great change,” Toia said. “I got an opportunity to play left back or right back, and I guess other teams have noticed that.”
Now, Toia is with Orlando City. And so far, he likes what he sees.
“I’ve loved it, to be honest,” Toia said. “Just obviously coming into a new team for another year can be difficult, but there’s always positive things to it. Coming into Orlando where the weather is beautiful, the training facility has been great, the players, the coaches, everything’s been great. So, it’s been a nice, warm welcome.”
Toia’s switch from defender to forward has helped launch his career. It’s changed his whole life. Who knows where he would be without that early guidance from Kreis-- Toia says he doesn’t spend too much time wondering.
“I stepped up,” Toia said. “And I never looked back.”
