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The Life Of A Kit Man | Armada FC's Daniel Granados Is Living Dream Of Working In Sports

The kit man linked up with Jacksonville after a call from GM Dario Sala
Jacksonville Armada FC Staff | Sep 3, 2015

Jacksonville Armada FC equipment manager Daniel Granados, or Danny as he is affectionately referred to around the locker room, is the quintessential sports story of a regular fan that realized his dream of working in a sport he loves.

A soft-spoken native of Leon, Mexico, Granados moved to Dallas, Texas, as a teenager and got his foot in the door with Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas in the club’s early days.

“My interest in working in soccer started back in ’96, when MLS was a new league,” Granados said. “I went to watch a game; I believe it was the Dallas Burn against the San Jose Earthquakes. I asked the ball kid how he got his job, and he said the club was always looking for volunteers, so he gave me the contact number. The next day I gave them a call but never heard back from them.”

Then in 1997 as he went to pick up his season tickets, he was asked if he was still interested in being a volunteer for the team, which was an opportunity he accepted on the spot.

“At first they had me handing out programs outside the stadium,” Granados said. “I then moved on to being a ball kid, even I was 18 at the time, and eventually I moved into supervising the group. It got me on the field and gave me the opportunity to watch the soccer games, so I was willing to do almost anything they asked.”

Eventually the club was able to offer Granados a part-time job with team operations on game days, and then in 2001, his boss, Corby Hosea, made Granados full time as an assistant team administrator.

“I didn’t have any experience at all, but Corby said he thought I could do it because I was bilingual and organized,” Granados said. “I interviewed, and they told me that because I had volunteered here for so long, the job was mine if I wanted it.”

Granados served as a liaison to Spanish-speaking players, handled visas and just about anything else imaginable. He was “pretty much a 24-hour concierge.”

“I remember having to go to the airport and pick up players at two in the morning and having to be at the office at eight the next morning,” he said with a smile. “I also remember going on my very first airport pickup. It was Leonardo Cuéllar, who is the current Mexican women’s national team head coach. He was one of the candidates for the head coach position at FC Dallas. They wanted me to go pick him up and asked me if I had ever been to the Dallas Airport before. I said yes, but I had never actually been to the airport before. I got lost, and it took two hours to get to the hotel. He thought it was hilarious, but it was a long night. Sometimes you just have to do what it takes.”

Granados held that position in 2004, when he decided to take a year off after feeling burnt out. But the itch to work in soccer remained, and he returned to FC Dallas in 2005 on a part-time basis. But soon, he became interested in being more than just a team administrator.

“I used to look at the kit man when I was outside,” Granados said. “They always had more of a relationship with the players. I always wanted to be able to do that, so I helped them out every time I got the chance. They hired an experienced kit man who had an assistant that was allergic to the sun. That is where I got my chance to get involved. They made me full time, and I was the assistant team administrator and the assistant equipment manager.”

After settling in his role with FC Dallas for a number of years and becoming a fixture at the club, Granados got a call in 2014 from a familiar voice.

“I got a call one day from one of my former players at FC Dallas, Dario Sala, who just so happened to be the general manager with the Armada,” Granados said. “We got in touch, and he asked me if I was willing to leave Dallas to come help start up a new club in Jacksonville.”

The opportunity was all too tempting for Granados, so he, along with his family, packed his bags for the sunny skies of Florida.

“I really felt it was an opportunity that I had to take,” he said. “But it was a sad day when I left Dallas. It was where I had lived since ’92 when I first came to the states. My wife and I talked about it. She supported me in talking the risk. We are really happy here in Jacksonville.”

Despite working many more hours than the general population, Granados loves his job.

“Even with the long hours and time I spend away from my family, which is tough, I seriously love this job,” he said. “I wasn’t able to become a professional soccer player when I was younger, so for me this is the next best thing.”

With his dream of being a kit man for a professional soccer team now a reality, Granados has one more goal he needs to reach: winning a championship.

“I am still looking for that championship,” he said. “I have been to four finals; one Major League Soccer Final and three U.S. Open Cup Finals. Hopefully the Armada will be able to give me my first championship.”

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