May 20, 2024 – United Soccer League One (USL1)
Richmond Kickers News Release
RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Kickers are pleased to share that defender Dakota Barnathan and midfielder Nil Vinyals have successfully completed their courses to earn the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) B Coaching License.
Barnthan and Vinyals earning their licenses is a reflection of their commitment and the Kickers professional team’s commitment to building a cohesive player development pathway in the Central Virginia region. By pursuing professional development opportunities like coaching licenses, Kickers pro players can continue to grow the game in Richmond both on the pitch and on the touchline.
The pair both serve on the Richmond United academy staff which is the same academy that has developed numerous talented players who now compete and train with the Kickers pro team and Richmond Ivy SC – Richmond’s pre-professional women’s team competing in the USL W League.
Barnathan currently serves as the assistant coach for the U15 and U16 Girls ECNL teams and Vinyals serves as the assistant coach for the U15 and U16 Boys ECNL teams.
The pair have been very well received by the young academy players as they help coach their teams to successful 2023-2024 seasons, with ECNL playoffs and ECNL Mid-Atlantic Cup Finals slated for June 2024.
“Even though Dakota has only been our assistant for a year, he has taught me so much,” said Annabel Sharrer, a Richmond United U15 Girls’ player. “He always brings a positive attitude to all of our training sessions. He gives coaching points whenever he can to help us translate training activities to game situations. He has been a great role model, as he plays center back like me, he has helped grow my game by working closely with me. Dakota pushes us day in and day out, but always makes training so fun. He has been a great addition to our RU squad, and learning from him this year has been great!”
“Nil is a great coach and I’m grateful to be coached by him. I like how intense he always is with us in each training session and how focused he is when he does warmups with us. It gets me focused for training sessions and in general he’s just a good and fun person to be around,” added Axel Aldana Gallegos, a Richmond United U16 Boys’ player.
The USSF B License is designed for coaches involved with teams at the U13 level or higher. Originally accepted into the course in October 2023, Barnathan and Vinyals studied and applied leadership and…
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