TEAMPLAYR SPOTLIGHT: Anthony Bardon, Solar SC & Lincoln Football Academy

Welcome to another TeamPlayr Spotlight!

In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Anthony Bardon. Anthony's on the field resume includes 29 caps with the Gibraltar men's national team and 8 years playing professional soccer in Europe. Following his retirement from playing, and founded Lincoln Football Club DFW, and has newly been appointed Director of ECNL RL NTX at Solar Soccer Club.

You don't want to miss this one, as Anthony discusses his personal journey in soccer and the exciting new partnership between Lincoln and Solar, two prominent clubs in the Texas soccer community. Anthony shares his insights on the importance of maintaining a club's identity and culture while embracing growth and providing more opportunities for young players.

Let's hear what he has to say!

Note that the following interview was conducted in person and the following text has been edited for conciseness and clarity.

Anthony, tell me about how you got involved in the new Texas soccer community.

[Anthony] I came to Texas when I was 11 years old, having previously played at Aston Villa and other academies in England. My mom married an American and moved to the US, so I had to leave England. It was a tough transition, and after a while, I went back to England to live with my dad and played in different academies. Eventually, I returned to the US and played for various clubs and teams, including college soccer. Later, I played in England, Gibraltar, and ultimately retired at 26.

How was your experience as an older youth player and in your adulthood in England?

[Anthony] The biggest lesson I learned in England was how to become a man in soccer, as I played against older and more experienced players. I also learned the importance of physicality in the game. When I went to Gibraltar, I combined my physicality with the Spanish style of playing beautiful football, which helped me develop as a player.

After retiring, you founded the Lincoln soccer club in Texas. Can you tell us about that journey?

[Anthony] I retired at 26, but I already knew at 24 that I wanted to be a coach. I wanted to create a culture of training that I never had as a youth player in Texas. My goal was to develop a high-level training environment for kids, so they wouldn't miss out on the opportunities I did. I started with a group of recreational kids, and the club grew from there. I believe that if you create the highest level of training, the pathways to success will open up naturally.

‍There's been a big announcement recently about your club. Can you share more about that and what the future holds?

[Anthony] I realized that the landscape of soccer leagues has changed, and to provide the best opportunities for our players, we needed access to a higher platform. I spoke with Adrian Solca and Grant Sawyer from Solar about the possibility of integrating our program into their club. They were open to the idea, and now we have autonomy over one platform within their club. However, we must perform well to maintain this position. My focus is to continue pushing for greatness and providing the best training and opportunities for our players.

So, in summary, the Lincoln youth club will transition to Solar and its own Solar ECNL RL NTX platform. We will manage teams from the U13 toU19 as well as U11 and U12 pre-ECNL teams. Additional teams will be created for classic leagues and RPL as well, focusing on quality rather than quantity.

Lincoln will transition from Lincoln Football Club DFW to Lincoln Football Academy, incorporating existing programs such as personal training, the Elite Youth Development Program, and other offerings. The club will maintain its identity and work closely with Solar while still controlling its environment and culture, which is the top priority. This partnership allows both entities to benefit from each other's resources and networks.

At the end of the day, the main goal of this partnership is to maintain the club's unique identity and culture while offering a larger platform and more opportunities for players. The focus will be on attracting the right people who are genuinely committed to the sport, ensuring that everyone involved is working towards the same objective.

That all sounds very exciting. Thank you so much for sitting down with us today, and best of luck with this new move!

Be sure to check out and connect with the newly Solar ECNLRL NTX teams on TeamPlayr!

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Disclosure: Allen Hamilton, author of this post and founder of TeamPlayr, is affiliated with Solar Soccer Club as head coach of Solar ECNL RL NTX 11B