Steve McNally: «Hiring Dae-hoon Lee is like signing a superstar»

The CEO of USA Taekwondo Steve McNally, told to MASTKD that the signing of Dae-hoon Lee as National Team Coach was the result of a global search focused on LA 2028 and Brisbane, highlighted his immediate impact on training standards and culture, and confirmed that he will report to Coaching Director Paul Green and will join in the summer, after completing the visa process.

USA Taekwondo announces signing of Legend Daehoon Lee to Join Team USA Ahead of LA 2028

How did this contract come about, and what made you decide he was the perfect fit for the team?

We made the decision to conduct a global search because we wanted to give our athletes the very best chance at LA 2028 and beyond, to add to what is already a world-class coaching staff and make it even stronger. When Daehoon’s application came in, and I should say he was the first to apply, there was genuine excitement in the building. You’re talking about one of the greatest competitors the sport has ever produced.

But what really sealed it wasn’t the resume. It was the process. The way Daehoon approached everything was incredibly thoughtful, measured, considered, deeply professional. And when you sit down and talk taekwondo with him, the knowledge is just extraordinary. You quickly realize you’re dealing with someone who doesn’t just understand the sport at an elite level but has spent a huge amount of time thinking about how to teach it and develop others. That combination was exactly what we were looking for.

Dae-hoon Lee: “LA 2028 means everything”

And then there’s his personality. Daehoon is a genuinely positive person, and that matters more than people realize in a high-performance environment. That positivity is infectious, it lifts the people around him, and it creates the kind of atmosphere where athletes thrive. The last thing you want in a program like this is an energy vampire sucking the life out of the room with constant gloom. Daehoon is the complete opposite of that. We’re so excited to see him work with our athletes and staff.

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In sporting terms, why is this signing similar to when a big soccer club signs a superstar?

When a club like Real Madrid or my own team Manchester City signs a generational talent. It changes everything, not just on the field. That’s the best way I can describe this.

There’s the profile. Daehoon Lee is a global superstar in taekwondo. His name means something everywhere the sport is played, and that immediately elevates the perception of our program on the world stage.

There’s the impact on the athletes around him. When someone of that caliber walks into your training environment every day, standards rise. Expectations rise. The athletes around him will be better just by being in his orbit, absorbing how he thinks, how he prepares, how he competes. That’s invaluable.

And there’s something else that happens with a big signing in football that people don’t always talk about. It lifts everything. The fans, the staff, the rest of the players. There’s a renewed energy, a sense that something special is happening, and that the future just got brighter. I fully expect the same here. This announcement will mean something to our athletes, to our community, to everyone who cares about USA Taekwondo and who loves our sport. That kind of lift is real, and it matters.

And it sends a statement. To our athletes, to our rivals, to the global taekwondo community. USA Taekwondo is serious. We’re not just preparing for a home Olympics, we’re preparing to excel in it. Signing Daehoon Lee tells the world exactly where our ambitions lie.

What will be Dae-hoon Lee’s official role, and when will he formally join the team?

Daehoon joins our coaching staff as a National Team Coach, working alongside our existing world-class team to prepare our athletes for the highest level of international competition. As for timing, we’re expecting him to join us this summer, once the necessary visa formalities have been completed. We’re working hard to make that process as smooth and quick as possible. We’re just as eager to get him on the mat as everyone else is.

What position will he hold on the staff: to whom does he report and what responsibilities will he have?

Daehoon will report to our Coaching Director, Paul Green, and his responsibilities span several key areas. He’ll serve as lead coach for a number of our academy athletes, taking direct responsibility for their training, competition preparation, and planning. On the mat, he’ll be 100%  hands-on.

Beyond that, one of the things we’re most excited about is the opportunity to spread his knowledge more widely. Daehoon will be actively involved in camps and coach education, both online and in person, so that his expertise doesn’t just benefit the athletes he works with directly, but the broader USA taekwondo community. That kind of knowledge transfer is genuinely rare and something we intend to make the most of.

What do you expect to change first thanks to him: immediate results, training culture, or tactical methodology?

We’re not putting any pressure on Daehoon for immediate results. That’s not the right way to think about this. What we’re really looking forward to is the learning process, and that goes both ways. He’ll bring perspectives and knowledge that will challenge and elevate everyone around him, and equally, he’ll be learning about our athletes, our system, our culture. That mutual exchange is where the real value is.

What I will say is that when someone of Daehoon’s caliber joins an environment, the bar rises. Not because anyone tells it to, but because it just does. We already have incredibly high standards here, and he moves that bar up another couple of notches. Over time, that’s what produces results. We’re building something for LA 2028 and beyond, and this is a very deliberate part of that.

A long-term agreement «until Brisbane» was mentioned: why such a long horizon and how will you evaluate it in stages?

Continuity is everything in high performance sport. Change takes time, and real improvement is iterative. You don’t transform a program overnight, and anyone who thinks you do doesn’t understand elite sport. LA 2028 will come around faster than people think, and we want Daehoon embedded in our system, deeply familiar with our athletes, and fully aligned with our methodology well before those Games arrive.

But this was never just about LA. We have a long-term strategy, and that thinking extends to Brisbane and beyond. Short-term thinking produces short-term results. We’re building something sustainable, a program that doesn’t just peak for one Olympics but consistently competes at the highest-level cycle after cycle. A long-term commitment from someone of Daehoon’s caliber is central to that vision, and we’ll evaluate progress together at every stage along the way.

Final message: what do you say today to the American athlete who dreams of LA28 after this news?

Our standards are high, and our ambitions are even higher. I want every American athlete who dreams of standing on that podium in Los Angeles or Brisbane to know that. For too long, there was a gap between what our athletes dreamed of and what the organization behind them was capable of delivering. That gap is closed. We are making record investments in our athletes, in our coaching staff, in everything that surrounds and supports them, and the signing of Daehoon Lee is the latest and most visible expression of that commitment.

We can’t step on the mat for them. We can’t fight their fights. But we can make sure that when they do step out there, they have had access to the very best coaching, the very best preparation, and the very best support that exists anywhere in the world. That’s our job, and that’s our promise. Dream big, because everything we’re doing right now is designed to help you achieve exactly that.

MAS: Media About Sport.
TKD: Taekwondo.
MASTKD: Worldwide Leader on Taekwondo Information.

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Claudio Aranda

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