Virginia Soccer Association names Matt Lacey as new Technical Director
HAYMARKET, VA (Via VSA) – The Virginia Soccer Association (VSA) has announced the appointment of Matt Lacey as Technical Director. Matt will be responsible for leading VSA to the next level of player and club development in the Northern Virginia area. He comes to VSA with vast experience in club structure, administration, player development, and coaching education.
“Matt has a proven track record of building a successful club which offers all levels of play from recreation all the way up to the elite levels,” says Mandi Brown, VSA President. “He has high standards for himself and his staff, he has a vision and plan that aligns with our goals, and has an incredible work ethic. I’m excited to add Matt’s expertise to VSA and look forward to working alongside him.”
Lacey comes to VSA after a successful four year period as Technical Director and Director of Player Development with Chesterfield United who competes in the Virginia National Premier League. He helped turn Chesterfield United into a competitive club in the Central Virginia area by creating new technical initiatives in player development and coaching education. In less than four years, Chesterfield grew from 24 to 40 travel teams, from 10 to 100+ U8 advanced development players, and from 2 to 9 U9 travel teams. The growth of the club allowed for greater exposure of players with numerous US Soccer ID center invitations and greater number of players in the US Youth Soccer ODP state and regional pools.
“This is a great opportunity and I want to thank everyone who has been involved in this process. The biggest factor in my decision to join VSA is that it is a club I believe has a good infrastructure in place and has a board and membership that share my vision for the club. I am coming here to push boundaries and expectations because I believe that VSA has all the tools in place to be a top club in such a competitive market. We already have some exciting initiatives and plans in place and I am excited to get started. I look forward to getting in the fields and working with the players and coaches,” said Matt Lacey.
Matt is a USSF B licensed (pending A results) and USSF National Youth Licensed coach and serves as a VYSA Coaching Education Instructor delivering USSF F and E licenses for the state of Virginia. He is also the 2001 Girls US Youth Soccer ODP state Head Coach and was recently part of the 99 boys State staff that won the 2014 Region 1 championship.
Born in England and moving to the U.S. in 2005, Matt’s playing career includes professional and college experience with Norwich City Youth and Reserves teams, Winthrop University, Lees McRae College, Richmond Kickers, and Fredericksburg. During his college career Matt achieved NSCAA First team All American, All First team Big South conference, 3 National tournament appearances, and 3 conference regular season and tournament titles. His professional playing career was cut short by a knee injury in 2010.
Lacey will be relocating to the Northern Virginia area along with his wife Megan and two children Lily Rose and Lennon.
Virginia Soccer Association (VSA) is a non-profit charitable soccer education organization serving the youth of Western Prince William County since 1977. Our players are boys and girls from the ages of 3 to 18 who live in Haymarket, Gainesville, Catharpin, Bristow, and neighboring communities in Virginia. VSA organizes a recreation/instructional league during the spring and fall seasons and sponsors travel/select teams to travel leagues in Northern Virginia. VSA is an affiliate of Virginia Youth Soccer Association (VYSA), United States Youth Soccer Association (USYSA), United States Soccer Federation (USSF), and Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
