RICHMOND, Va. – (Thursday, February 23, 2023) – The Richmond Kickers are pleased to announce the promotions of Julian Khalili to Director of Technical Training and Scott Thomsen to the Director of Camps.

Julian Khalili was recently hired as the Youth Club’s Zone One Coordinator to collaborate with the club’s program directors to develop and oversee a consistent player development identity for all Zone One players. Khalili has made significant progress holding multiple coaching education webinars, as well as creating a Zone One Session Library & handbook, entailing methodology and coaching standards. He has also hosted on-the-field sessions with Kickers coaches, working collectively toward the club’s unified vision. His main focus is to educate the coaches in the delivery of exceptional practice environments; the goal being optimal development of a “Kickers Player,” that they each may become:

- Masters of the ball
- Adaptive movers with and without the ball
- Highly competitive
- Problem solvers
- Team focused (integrating the Kickers values of REACT)

To date, Khalili has earned a United Soccer Coaches Advanced National Diploma, as well as his Futsal Level 1 Diploma. He holds a USSF-C License and is in the process of applying for his B-license. His goal is to achieve the A-license and combine such passions with his aspiration of earning a PHD in fields of related research.

Khalili has been coaching for nearly 9 years, formerly as a director at Dynamo Soccer Club, and more recently as an assistant coach for Richmond United Boys. His playing career is highlighted by his time at Randolph College, where he played from 2011-2015. During his time at RC, Julian appeared in three Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament finals.

Scott Thomsen currently holds a USSF-C license and plans to achieve the B-license in the near future. He currently manages the highly popular Kickers ADP program and will now oversee all the Richmond Kickers camp programs. The New Jersey native grew up playing for New York Red Bulls Academy. He attended the University of  Virginia and won a National Championship in 2014.  He played professionally for 5 years with the New York Red Bulls, Orlando City, and the Richmond Kickers. He has coached with the club since 2018 from ADP to U12 Boys and Girls.

In a short time, Scott has achieved many ADP Accomplishments, including:

- Increasing number of participants each season in charge of the program so far, including selling out at the River City and Collegiate locations

- Increasing female participation at our youngest age groups

- Expanding the ADP Futsal program into the winter and is soon to introduce a brand new  Summer Futsal season

- Expansion of qualified coaching staff for ADP program and helping to continue to develop coaches for our U9/10 travel program through coaching education opportunities and collaborations with session and program design.

“Scott and Julian have extensive experience in the programs they now lead, and we look forward to them adding their own personal leadership style to their programs,” commented Leigh Cowlishaw, Richmond Kickers Youth Club Executive Director. “Their knowledge, experience, and most importantly desire to make a difference within our club has been evident for all to see. We are confident they will maintain the high standards we have achieved for our Camps and Technical Training in past years.”