Tiley Nunnink got a taste of Des Moines Menace soccer as an assistant coach last year, but now he’s back as general manager after a brief stint with a pro team in San Antonio.

Nunnink is a retired Marine who was selected as a colonel at the end of his 23-year career but retired before he took the position. Before his military career, he attended college in California on a soccer scholarship. “I knew I’d always have one foot in the game,” he quipped about his return to the sport. 

As a Marine, he was a diplomat in London and also had high-ranking positions in Japan and in San Antonio. He loved the heat and sun in Texas — and found the outdoor running a bit chilly when he returned to Des Moines in January. His time in London most likely started his habit of calling a soccer field the “pitch.”

Now he’s in charge of the Des Moines Menace, a widely regarded amateur machine that cranks out professional soccer players with regularity. There are men’s and women’s teams and a youth soccer league, along with camps and clinics. 

Nunnink succeeds Matt Homonoff, who was the Menace’s general manager from November 2012 until last October.

How did you land in Des Moines coaching the Menace? 
I was here last year as an assistant coach working with my good friend John Pascarella, who is back in [Major League Soccer] the pros. I had scouted for John back in the day, when he was with Kansas City. I told him I would come up and help build a team, cohesion and that sort of thing.

It was a great team, great people. I ended up going to San Antonio at the end of the season to work for the San Antonio FC [professional] soccer team [as an assistant general manager, basically]. It was great.

Then the Menace called and asked if I was interested in the [general manager] job. There are a lot of good things happening here. I thought it could be an interesting challenge. We talked, and here I sit. 

It’s an interesting challenge. The weather wasn’t great in the winter [he came in January], but I’m doing OK now. 

What did you do in San Antonio? 
I was in charge of operations, basically. 

Soccer has been very, very good to you.
I went to college playing soccer. When I finished, there wasn’t much going on in professional soccer. I wasn’t probably good enough or handsome enough anyway. I had always had passion for my country so I joined the Marine officer ranks and had a career in the Marine Corps. I was coaching my home team, the Marines. It was a little consuming, if you will. I could scout talent. As I retired from the Marine Corps, I always knew that I would be back in the game. I always had one foot in soccer — I always joke around with that pun. I’m back and I looked at coaching and the front office piece. The front office piece sings to me because, kind of like the Marines, you are trying to synchronize many different aspects.

What appealed to you about this job? 
Number one, straight up, the challenge. I come from an environment where you are constantly challenged at a high tempo. For me, that’s what I crave. This is a different fight, if you will, but it still provides opportunity to exercise your initiative to compete and be challenged. 

Is it scary to be general manager?
No. I’ve been in charge of all kinds of organizations in the past. We have a staff here that is so dedicated. There was a challenge here, and I knew I was coming in to something that is very strong with an owner [Kyle Krause] who is passionate. 

What are your goals for this position?
I want to try to grow our attendance and the business end of it. We want to do bigger and better things. We want a good environment at [Valley Stadium in West Des Moines]. We want teams that win and serve the players well in their development toward the pros. This is our 25th year. We are one of the dominant teams in the [Premier Development League]. It’s fun to build a team. We are the highest level of amateur.

What is the attendance?
Our attendance for the first game was 1,988. In May, in that league, that’s good. 

Do people understand the scope of your operation?
A lot of people don’t know we have a women’s team. We’ve had a men’s team for 25 years, but the women’s team is newer. They don’t have as many home games, so they don’t surface as much. They play at Valley Stadium and Grimes and Ankeny to help the brand. Most of our games are at Valley on a Friday or Saturday. We also have the youth teams.

Have the Menace players routinely turned pro?
We have tons of former players in the pros. From last year’s team alone, we have six players in the pros right now. We have players who won what is essentially the Super Bowl of soccer. The Des Moines Menace is probably better known outside Des Moines in the soccer communities and in the pro ranks than we are here. There isn’t a [Major League Soccer] team that wouldn’t know the Menace. We hire pro coaches. We produce players that augment their training and they bolt into the pros. When college players come here for the summer, they are basically borrowed talent. Their coaches are relying on them coming back a better player. [Players are unpaid but get some living expenses.] We are the highest level of amateur but we run like a professional program. 

How do you sell the program?
We dress up Valley Stadium with our sponsorships. We are in the entertainment business. We have to have an exciting team. You have to have other activities. You have to make it entertaining, create entertainment at halftime. No holds barred at this point; you have a crazy Marine at the helm. I’m going to wrestle a bear if we have to. We had some robotics on opening night. We’ve had a streaker. You dress up like a streaker with a towel. Because we are on a 25-year streak. 

What is your philosophy on this job?
A lot of it is just intuitive. You’re just balancing a lot. Everything from dealing with players to dealing with sponsors to trying to be creative and find ways to market your game to who’s going to be the streaker. It’s fun. It’s a balance.

What do you do in your free time?
I run. If I don’t run, I hurt. If I do run, I hurt.