Plenty of MLS players spend some of their downtime coaching local youth teams.
Not many do it quite like Zach Loyd.
The FC Dallas defender and his wife Casey – née Nogueira, a FC Kansas City midfielder and former US international – coach players from the Dallas neighborhood of Vickery Meadow, an underprivileged area known for its high refugee population.
Together with club founder Danny Domingo, who they attend church with in Dallas, the Loyds have built Vickery United into a legitimate local club team, helping transform the group from an informal organization that began with a mission of helping Vickery Meadows children who may not share a language connection into a team that competes in a high-level league in north suburban Plano.
According to a Christian Science Monitor report published on Yahoo.com, Vickery United is run through Domingo’s Love Is Ministry, which also assists refugee families in Vickery Meadows with English classes, tutoring and acclimatization programs.
The club, which recently added a girls’ team, is funded completely by donations, with FC Dallas and several prominent USWNT players – including 2015 World Cup squad members Tobin Heath and Lauren Holiday – listed among Vickery United’s partners.
For Loyd and his wife, coaching the team is borne out of a desire to lend a hand in a less fortunate community.
“We love kids,” the longtime FCD man said. “We thought, ‘How can we use soccer to help impact kids’ lives and help out in the community?’”
More information on Vickery United can be found on the club’s official website.
