A big part of Legion FC’s partnership with Birmingham United Soccer Association (BUSA) revolves around the ‘Legion Experience’ which not only means young athletes get to come to Legion FC games, but Legion players also go to BUSA training sessions one night a week to coach these young players and help with their development. This fall club season, Legion FC Academy Director and First Team Assistant Coach Eric Avila is helping coach, as well as first team players Matt VanOekel (goalkeeper), Mikey Lopez (midfielder/defender), Phanuel Kavita (defender), Ryan James (defender/midfielder), Trevor Spangenberg (goalkeeper), and Zach Herivaux (midfielder).
“The Legion Experience is something special, especially for all the kids involved with the Club. We’re trying to do something different than what most clubs do, by focusing on the players specifically,” said Avila. “For me it’s special, to give back to the community, to these kids, and it’s something that I look forward to.”
“My family always emphasized giving back to the community, and helping out the people that brought you up,” said Herivaux. “For me to be able to be in the position to help kids out means everything, so I’m excited to be here.”
These players will get back to playing in their own games this weekend as they travel to Oakland to take on the Roots on Saturday, October 1, at 9:00pm CT. Fans can tune in on My68 or ESPN+ and are encouraged to follow @bhmlegion on Twitter for live match updates.
The Three Sparks return to Protective Stadium to wrap up the season with two home matches on Sunday, October 9 at 4:00pm against league-leaders San Antonio FC, and Wednesday, October 12 at 7:00pm against Indy Eleven. Fans can get tickets to the October 9 match here, and the October 12 match here.
For team updates, news and more, follow @bhmlegion on social media, sign up for Legion FC’s Newsletter, or visit bhmlegion.com. The Legion FC app is also available for download via Apple or Android. For gameday reminders, sync the Legion FC 2022 schedule to your calendar HERE.