To be clear, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Head Coach James Chambers doesn’t want to take credit for his side’s triumph in the 2024 USL Championship Final this past Saturday.

“I don’t see it like that,” Chambers said after his side’s 3-0 victory against Rhode Island FC. “I don’t see it about me. I genuinely don't see that. I see it as, we’ve had players here and we’ve all wanted to achieve the same thing. It’s the players who have been here since ‘21 and came in ‘22 and came last year. And it’s almost the next step, and thankfully, we took the next step today and got over the line.

“It’s the players that do it. It’s the players that win games, not coaches.”

He’s got a point. There is only so much a Head Coach can do to prepare his side before it steps onto the field, only so many in-game adjustments he can try to apply, only so many substitutions – forced and tactical – he can make.

When it comes to putting the plan into place and making it work, it’s all about the players.

But it’s hard to watch the embraces Chambers received as his side celebrated on the field from players and fellow staff members and not get the feeling the tactical plan that was installed for the game and the emotion Chambers engendered within his group played a large part in one of the most dominant Championship Final performances we’ve seen over the league’s 14 years.

• SETTING THE TEMPO: From the opening whistle, the Switchbacks were in charge. They looked like a side completely in control of its emotion and ready to rise to the moment. Within the first minute they’d already threatened to open the scoring, and by the end their victory was comprehensive as Chambers’ decisions to keep Juan Tejada in the starting lineup despite the return of Jamaican international Tyreek Magee paid off with the Panamanian earning Final MVP honors.

• DIFFERING FORTUNES: By contrast to their hosts, Rhode Island just didn’t meet the moment. As some have noted – including former United States international Eric Wynalda on SiriusXM FC on Monday – the 6,000-foot altitude at Weidner Field seemed to hit the visitors hard, which led to a disappointing end to a tremendous first campaign.

• CONTINUING TREND: As his side took victory, Chambers became the third-youngest Head Coach to lead a side to victory in a Championship Final, and the third under the age of 40 to do so in four finals this decade. Having served as an assistant coach for the Switchbacks over the past three seasons, the victory represented the final step in the Switchbacks’ ascent to becoming one of the model clubs in the Championship, where Chambers, Sporting Director Stephen Hogan and Technical Director Alan McCann have each played important roles.

But for players like Switchbacks captain Matt Mahoney – who played his first professional season alongside Chambers when he was a midfielder at Bethlehem Steel FC in 2017 – the connection and inspiration the Dublin, Ireland native has provided made his first professional title even more special.

“We’ve been through so much together,” said Mahoney. “First Chambo and me as teammates, like, that’s actually incredible. [Switchbacks Sporting Director Stephen Hogan] signed me to my first contract with Brendan [Burke] back in 2017, it is kind of a full-circle moment, it’s incredible.

“Honestly, I’m so happy for him, Chambo, first-year coach, that that I could do this for him. You know, he’s more than my coach and my friend off the field. So, I’m very happy for him.”

James Chambers didn’t play a minute of the Switchbacks’ victory, it’s true.

That shouldn’t diminish his role in the performance, or the result, which cemented his position as the next top young coach to watch in the USL Championship.