Report: Racing Louisville FC have hired Christy Holly as new head coach

UPDATE 8/12 9:30 AM ET: added club’s official announcement

The news broke Tuesday night from The Athletic’s Meg Linehan that Racing Louisville FC found their new head coach: former Sky Blue FC head coach Christy Holly.

Louisville formally announced Holly on Wednesday morning. Executive vice president of development James O’Connor, who oversaw the coaching search, said via team press release, “It has been an exhaustive search involving an array of candidates from all backgrounds. Christy’s experience with elite youth talent and rapport with the National Team was a big differentiator for us.” The announcement emphasized Holly’s time spent scouting for the past few years and its benefit to his player recruitment.

Holly became Sky Blue head coach in January of 2016, taking over from Jim Gabarra and coaching the team to a 7-8-5 record and seventh place table finish. He stepped down in the middle of the 2017 season, while Sky Blue was sitting on a 7-9-2 record and was sixth in the standings. Overall, Holly left Sky Blue with a 14-17-7 record as the team’s head coach.

Since then, Holly has worked as a sports psychology consultant at Shore Neuropsychology and Behavioral Health in New Jersey, as well as an opposition analyst for US Soccer. He was part of USSF’s 2019 World Cup staff, scouting opposing teams during the tournament.

This article will be updated as more information comes in and the club makes any official announcement.