Technical Staff

A stalwart both as a player and coach in the USL Championship, Briggs was named the second head coach in Legion FC history on April 30, 2025. In five seasons at the helm with Sacramento Republic FC, Briggs led the club to the postseason four times, including a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2023. He made history in 2022, leading SRFC to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Finals, becoming the first second division team to make it that far. Briggs first made waves in the USL as the coach of Real Monarchs from 2017-18. The club took home the Players’ Shield by posting a 20-7-5 record to clinch the first postseason berth in its history, with Briggs being named 2017 USL Coach of the Year for his outstanding efforts. He began his coaching career in the USL with the Wilmington Hammerheads where he coached for one season in 2016.

Barlow joined Legion FC in 2019 following a year as Strength and Conditioning Coach with the United States Men’s National Team. He also brings prior MLS experience, having helped Real Salt Lake win an MLS Cup Championship, two Conference Championships, and appearances in the U.S. Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions Cup finals.

His career began with his alma mater, the University of Maryland, as Strength and Conditioning Coach. He later founded Barlow Consulting, and served in roles of Strength and Conditioning Coach and Director of Sports Science and Performance for Salt Lake from 2007 to 2016.

Barlow joined Heaps and Legion FC Head Coach Tom Soehn in New England in 2017 as the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Revolution, then spent time working at the Heiden Institute for Sports Science and Human Performance as High-Performance Manager before joining the national team. He also spent the 2018 USL Championship season as Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Charlotte Independence.

With experience in both USL-C and MLS across a 13-year playing career, Avila was a fixture on Legion FC’s first squad in 2019 where he tallied four assists across 34 appearances that season. Before joining the Legion FC staff in 2022, Avila began his coaching career in MLS NEXT as the head coach of the San Diego Nomads in 2021. Avila also served as the interim head coach for three matches in 2025, leading Birmingham to a pair of wins in that stretch.