Sam Stockley: Head Coach at Lexington Sporting Club
- Englishman has been with the project since Day One and helped build the vision there
- Constructed an Academy model that has attracted 1,400 youth players
- Praises ownership who have put their faith in him to take his ideas into the first team arena
- Had a pro journey that saw him rack up over 500 games in England, Hungary and the USA
Sam Stockley has been involved in helping to build Lexington Sporting Club from the ground up – now he will be the Kentucky franchise’s Head Coach in their debut season in America’s USL One.
The 45-year-old Football Careers client has worked as Sporting Director at the club since its birth just over a year ago.
Englishman Sam brought the experience from a fascinating playing career and the coaching knowledge he has accrued to the remit of creating a vision, culture and curriculum for the project.
Now Stockley’s sterling work in achieving that has been recognised by the club’s ownership as they hand him the chance to guide the first team when they make their League One bow in spring of 2023.
And Sam said: “I’m extremely humbled by this opportunity and very fortunate I’ve been able to be here since the start of this football club.
“To now have this opportunity to be able to be the head coach really allows the culture we have created to stay true to the alignment of what the vision was from the very start.
“Our ownership deserves so much credit. Bill and Donna Shively, Stephen Dawahare and Carter Carnegie have created such a great atmosphere and provided such great resources and support.
“How they’ve cultivated and brought this staff together, and I include myself in that, really is a testament to why this project has been so successful and so special.”
Stockley, the dedicated defender for almost two decades in the pro game, started out as a youth player at Southampton before starring for the likes of Barnet and Colchester United.
He then took a route less travelled and played for Hungarian giants Ferencvaros for two season before what became an influential adventure in the States playing in the USL with both FC New York and North Carolina Railhawks.
After he hung up his boots, Sam’s coaching journey saw him work at various levels both in the States and England and he had two fruitful years with the Football Association of Wales before making the move to Lexington. Now Sam is ready for the next step at an exciting level of the game in the States that is seeing rapid growth and he stressed:
“It’s not often that you get to be part of building a football club from the ground up and I’m extremely grateful for all that the owners have done. This opportunity also wouldn’t be here for myself if I didn’t have the amazing support from my family.
