Atlanta United begins to build its Academy staff

Atlanta United made big news with its newly formed Academy yesterday when Andrew Carleton signed a Homegrown contract. The coaching staff of the Academy is starting to also come into focus.

It was previously reported that Richard Money, the academy director, will coach the U18 team and Tony Annan, the academy manager, will coach the U16 team. With the rest of the staff likely to be announced soon, another bit of news broke yesterday.

Kris Bertsch, an assistant coach at the University of Louisville, Tweeted that he will be joining Atlanta United’s Academy staff.

Bertsch joined Louisville in March 2015 after five years as an assistant at Xavier University in Cincinnati. Three Xavier players joined MLS teams during his time with the Musketeers. He holds a US Soccer Federation ‘A’ coaching license.

After Bertsch was named as one of the country’s top college assistant coaches, Xavier head coach Andy Fleming said:

"Kris is the glue to our program and rarely has a bad day. His growth in running training has allowed me to take a look at the team from 6,000 feet and has been a big part of our consistency as a program."

He was also credited for his work in recruiting at both Xavier and his previous positions at Syracuse and Connecticut.

He was a quality player in his own right. Bertsch was a four year starting midfielder at American University. He earned All-Patriot League honors and played in two NCAA tournaments. Prior to his time in college, Bertsch starred for the renowned FC Delco youth club. He was a member of region and state ODP teams.