Matthew Lacy is the Victory Lookout – providing inside coverage of Vancouver Washington’s own soccer club. Watch for his columns on your #HometownSoccer club as they stay #ShipShape for the people of Clark County and beyond!
By Matthew Lacy, Vancouver Victory FC Lookout
VANCOUVER, WA—Head Coach Logan Emory, Lead Assistant Coach Scott Lewis, and Assistant Coach Otis Holt are your commanding officers on the Vancouver Victory ship for this 2018 season. They come to the team with different strengths and abilities, combining to create an awesome coaching force to recon with on the pitch.
You can find out more details regarding Head Coach Emory here (link to previous article). Lead Assistant Coach Lewis looks to be a perfect foil for the head gaffer; as he should, the two have known each other since 1990. They grew up playing with and against each other on the Boise National Club pitches as their families got to know each other on the sidelines. Even now, the two are roommates.
Coach Lewis prefers to emphasize, “Free-flowing confidence” where players, “make their own ideas” and have fun. He is easy-going, easy to talk to, and finds it easy to connect with players. All that easy pays off in hard work and great results. He comes to the V2FC with a quiver full of leadership skills that have brought him coaching success with his old club, the Boise Nationals and the Timberline High School team in Boise. In 2015, he led the Nationals to win the State Cup after a five year drought. In 2015 and 2016, he led his high school team to win back to back state championships and congruent back to back academic championships; speaking to the emphasis he places on the whole player. He currently coaches for F.C. Portland.
Assistant Coach Holt is aggressively defensive-minded, he likes to see his teams build from the back and make the simple passes that create big results. His preferred formation is fluid, depending on the strength of his players; as long as the defense is solid. He comes to the V2FC through our General Manager, Sean Janson. Janson is also the head coach of the Clark College Women’s soccer team where Coach Holt is his trusted assistant. Thus, his pathway to the Victory.
That path has roots in Southern California where Coach Holt played in a club league and for Claremont High School in Los Angeles. He went on the play for Azusa Pacific University. He was also the head coach for Covina High School where his most gratifying take-away from that time is, “watching the boys grow in belief in themselves and their capability to win.” Coach Holt also coached with his old club team for three years where he led the team to improve every season; a significant achievement that boosted them up to a level in their league. Finally, closer to home, Coach Holt coached at Skyview High School and is the current assistant coach for the women’s team at Clark college.
The Vancouver Victory coaching team has been assembled. They are a talented trio of different strengths and experience and philosophy that is sure to complement each other to bring dynamic results on the pitch. Keep on the lookout for more player signings, community partnerships, and the season schedule. Things are looking #shipshape, Sea of Blue. We are about to set sail.
