The NWSL is set to have two upcoming expansion teams in the league — one in Louisville, Kentucky, and one in Los Angeles. Both teams have stirred up quite a bit of excitement from fans.
The Louisville team has been named Racing Louisville FC but the Los Angeles team has yet to announce an official name. In the latest news for Louisville, the club has announced its first ever head coach: Christy Holly. Before you get excited that there is another woman head coach in the league, I have to tell you that Christy is a man.
Welcome to Louisville, @christyeholly!
Meet our first head coach in club history: https://t.co/y93WCBOrsX pic.twitter.com/V8J6WGEeWX— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) August 12, 2020
That’s right, out of the 11 total NWSL teams — two of which have yet to fully form — there is only one woman head coach. Freya Coombe is the head coach of Sky Blue FC and the only woman head coach in the entire league.
Fans everywhere are outraged at the selection of Christy as the expansion team's head coach. Christy Holly is an Irish coach and former player in the Irish Premier League. He was also the former Sky Blue head coach in the 2016 and partial 2017 season. He abruptly stepped down in 2017 after Sky Blue lost 5-0 to the Orlando Pride. Holly left the team with an overall 14-17-7 record in his two years.
According to multiple sources, Racing Louisville FC have hired Christy Holly as head coach, with the announcement/press conference tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Holly coached Sky Blue FC in #NWSL, stepping down August 2017, then served as a scout for the #USWNT for the 2019 World Cup.— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) August 11, 2020
Players of Sky Blue who played under Holly have admitted that the relationship between coach and player was strained and odd.
Sure, it would have been nice to see a new face in the league and to have another woman represented in a head coaching position, but hey, what do I know. His former expertise with an NWSL team is what reportedly made him stand out from other options. Holly also acted as a scout and opponent analyst for the USWNT during the 2019 World Cup — some say he helped the team win by having such detailed analysis.
Our Coach https://t.co/y93WCBwQBp
"Christy has a plethora of experience in the professional women’s game, and we are bringing in a well-rounded individual to coach our team." pic.twitter.com/KJCruc9VC9— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) August 12, 2020
I just can’t get over the fact that the NWSL keeps recycling average coaches. The players deserve better. https://t.co/rtjQoXemxp
— Mandy Laddish (@MandyLaddish) August 12, 2020
Hopefully he can bring good recruiting and scouting to the new Racing Louisville; all eyes will be on him, so he better not let us down.
I still don't quite understand why a male coach with a career NWSL record of 14 wins, 7 ties and 17 losses over two seasons is the ideal candidate for a NWSL expansion team that has the potential to be a marquee destination for major players.
*shrug*— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) August 12, 2020
