January 14, 2025 – MLS NEXT Pro
Chattanooga FC Press Release
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Football Club today announced head coach Chris Nugent’s full coaching staff for the 2025 season. Second assistant coach Liam Davies and goalkeeping coach Chris Barocas join first assistant coach Adam Reekie and assistant strength and conditioning coach Richard Dixon.
“Liam is hungry, passionate and has extensive coaching experience,” said Chattanooga Football Club technical director Sebastian Giraldo. “He brings a different perspective that complements and strengthens our staff. Chris Barocas raises the bar for all of us. We want to raise the level of goalkeeper development in MLS NEXT Pro to the Academy level and provide goalkeepers who can help us win. We wanted experts who will help us improve our performance environment every day, and we look forward to learning from both of them.”
Liam Davis
Davies was most recently the head coach of the North Carolina Fusion’s ECNL Boys U-15 and U-16 programs, where Reekie worked. Davies also served as Fusion’s college recruiting coordinator. He was also most recently an assistant coach for Salem City FC in USL League 2. During his time at Salem City, the club was a national finalist in 2021, finished fourth in the national finals in 2022, advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2023 and 2024, and won the South Atlantic Conference championship for four consecutive seasons. Previously, he served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Tiffin University, an NCAA Division II school in Tiffin, Ohio, where he helped lead the Dragons to the GMAC Championship and national tournament in 2019. He began his coaching journey in the United States as an assistant coach at Coker University, an NCAA Division II school in Hartsville, South Carolina.
During his playing career, Davies was an NAIA All-American at the University of Northwestern Ohio. He played for the New Orleans Jesters of the NPSL in 2015 and 2016. Before that, he played for Prescot Cables FC in the English Evostik League in 2011 and 2012, and was a starter for two years at Macclesfield Town in English League Two. As an apprentice. He also played for the Wigan Athletic FC Academy from 2003 to 2007.
Chris Barokas
Barocas brings more than 20 years of coaching experience to Chattanooga FC. At the professional level, he most recently served as goalkeeper director and assistant coach at Lexington SC in USL League One. Previously, he served as MLS NEXT Goalkeeper Director and MLS NEXT Pro Goalie Coach at Inter Miami CF, where he helped develop talent such as current Inter Miami CF goalkeeper Drake Callender. Barokas has also served as the academy goalkeeper coach for the New York Red Bulls (2018) and Orlando City (2016, 2017), as well as the goalkeeper coach for Orlando City B in 2017. He has demonstrated success at youth level with: well. As goalkeeper director for Orlando City youth soccer, he helped develop three goalkeepers to the U.S. youth national team. Barokas was also the goalkeeper coach for the U.S. national soccer team at the U-16 and U-17 levels in 2015 and 2016. He spent three years as goalkeeper director at Jacksonville FC, where he led two goalkeepers to the U.S. Youth National Team and helped the club win a national championship in 2011.
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