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USL San Antonio FC

San Antonio FC Names Nick Evans SAFC Pro Academy Director

June 10, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
San Antonio FC News Release


SAN ANTONIO - San Antonio FC has named Nick Evans as its first SAFC Pro Academy Director, the team announced today. Evans will continue to serve as an assistant coach to Head Coach Darren Powell on the first team squad, while adding management and oversight responsibilities for the recently established youth academy. As part of his expanded full-time role within the club, Evans will be directly involved with player scouting, identification, and development throughout all levels of the club.

"I am very honored to be given the opportunity to lead the SAFC Pro Academy in its inaugural season," said Evans. "Having worked with Darren Powell and the technical staff for the past six months, I have been able to understand the culture, standards and expectations that the organization has been building each day. San Antonio and the greater area has a significant pool of talented players and I am excited to have the opportunity to work with them."

Having previously served as the Boys' Director of Coaching for local youth club Classics Elite, Evans will transition into his full-time, dedicated capacity with San Antonio FC in the coming weeks.

"We are glad to have Nick head up our youth academy," said Powell. "The SAFC Pro Academy is an important piece for growing San Antonio FC soccer. Nick is highly respected in the San Antonio community and has a passion for coaching youth players the correct way. I look forward to working with him on the SAFC Pro Academy program."

Evans previously spent two seasons as an assistant coach to the San Antonio Scorpions of the North American Soccer League from 2014-15 and has also worked as a leading youth soccer coach in San Antonio for the past six years. During his time in San Antonio, he has garnered an incredible reputation for developing young talent, especially in the South Texas area. The native of Wales holds a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) A License as well as a BSc in Sport & Exercise Science and a MSc in Kinesiology.

As a player, Evans joined English League 1 side Shrewsbury Town at 16 years old before going on to play over 100 games in the Welsh Premier League before moving to further his education in America. Evans led The University of the Incarnate Word as captain for two seasons and was a two time All-American and ESPN Academic All-American.

"Nick has a proven track record of producing quality players in the Youth National Team programs coming out of the San Antonio area," said Dave van den Bergh, U.S. Soccer Development Academy Technical Advisor and U-15 Boy's National Team Head Coach. "I'm excited to be working alongside a quality coach and person like Nick and wish him all the best with San Antonio FC."

In April, San Antonio FC launched the SAFC Pro Academy - a youth development program for the area's elite boys' players which will start with a 2004 birth-year team this coming season. SAFC Pro Academy teams is fully-funded at no cost to players selected.

The objective of the SAFC Pro Academy program is to identify and train the best players in the San Antonio market on a pathway to become a homegrown player for the San Antonio FC professional team, national teams, and/or opportunities in college soccer. In addition to developing skilled and dynamic soccer players, key components of the program will include each player displaying excellent personal character, becoming actively involved in community activities, and focusing on academic performance. The SAFC Pro Academy is structured to be a collaborative initiative between all local youth clubs and organizations in the San Antonio community by the opportunity to be an active part of the player identification process, as well as providing recognition and benefits to such participating clubs.

Moving forward, SAFC Pro Academy will reveal additional plans for the expansion of its teams and programs through a model of organic growth that will ultimately apply to yield teams at all U.S. Soccer Development Academy age groups.

San Antonio FC will return to Toyota Field on June 18 to face the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC at 7:30 p.m. Fans can learn more and purchase tickets by visiting SanAntonioFC.com or by calling 210-444-5MLS.

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