The biggest thing this group has is a hunger and a desire to not only do well in our league and our games but to get to the next level. – Real Monarchs head coach Mark Briggs

In just 11 games, the Real Monarchs have won as many times as they did in the entire 2016 season (10).

The USL team lost its lone match at Colorado Springs on April 15, and have won every single game since.

At the top of the Western Conference, a lot of credit goes to Mark Briggs, the first-year head man, who said the first thing he did was attempt to establish a culture from day one of winning and a desire to improve.

Briggs said that on the first day of practice, players and coaching staff created a set of goals that the team would work to achieve that included winning a USL championship, and players training to earn success at higher levels of soccer.

The roster consists of a slew of players who have played for MLS squads and other higher leagues, and younger players who are set on making names for themselves on larger stages. He said from the day-one meeting, he could tell the group was something special, and the players had not only skill but a collective confidence.

"They enjoy coming to training every day and they’re still learning. The biggest thing this group has is a hunger and a desire to not only do well in our league and our games but to get to the next level," he said.

RSL coach Mike Petke, along with Briggs, had a key role with the Monarchs, as he spent a significant amount of time in training the team in pre-season, and even coaching the team to a win in their match against Portland on March 25.

The team is also fortunate, in that the key players have remained relatively healthy. Unlike RSL, who, between suspensions, injuries and players leaving for international duty, have had a near revolving door with their roster, the Monarchs have had a consistent starting 11 most of their matches this summer.

"The first team are going through a lot of injuries right now. And we’re lucky we’ve been able to hit the ground running, and we haven’t had so many injuries, and we’ve been able to be successful," Briggs said.

In their first 11 games, the Monarchs have scored 28 goals, just three less than their total of 31 last season. Midfielder Sebastian Velasquez, who played in the past with RSL, said much of the team's offensive success is because of Briggs's emphasis on working off the ball in attack.

A Monarchs team in its best form is one that has put its players in tip-top shape and can be seen practically running circles around opponents.

“His main thing is to work off the ball, and that’s very important because you can see a lot of great players that don’t play well off the ball and that can mess up your team tactically. When you see our team play, everyone’s going 100 miles per hour the whole game," Velasquez said.

However, off-ball movement is no good when teammates are unable to read each other's movements and deliver quality balls. Velasquez said training, and a roster that is as cohesive as any he has been on are key to chemistry on the field.

Much of their off-field chemistry has to do with a card game called "22".

"It's a game one of the guys made up," he said. He explained the game as a simple, point-based card game that a number of players participate in off the field.

“We play it on the flights, before games, in between training and meals,” he said. “The guys are all extremely competitive, but it’s a great way we all bond and I honestly think it’s helped us get more cohesive, and that shows on the field.”

Having played just 11 of a 30-game regular season, with hopefully a long playoff run, Velasquez said games and paying attention to detail are what the team needs to be successful all year.

"The season’s so long that there’s going to be times where we’re tired, or guys are getting upset with each other, and it’s a big family so you have to keep that strive to keep going forward.”

With all the team's success both off and on the field, it is easy to forget that, as a development team, players could get plucked for first-team duty at any time. RSL has been on a big of a losing streak as of recent, allowing ten goals in just two games. Coach Briggs noted that with the first team's rough stretch, some of his players may get called up.

"From a selfish perspective I would like to keep the players playing with me," he said, adding, "but I know full-well that my job is to produce players for the first team, and if there’s an opportunity for my players to go up to the first team, and play at that level, then I’ll be the one that’s pushing them, and I’ll be happy for them.”

It is still early in the Monarchs' 2017 campaign, and the players and coaches must find a delicate balance between the desire to win now, but also look to the future. However, with a first-place team a third of the way through, coach Briggs and the boys look to be heading in the right direction.