Southern West Virginia King’s Warriors assistant coach John Miglarese works with Samson Defeugaing, left, while other members of the team look on during a practice session on Tuesday at the East River Soccer Complex. The King’s Warriors will open its 2014 season on Friday at East River against the South Carolina United Bantams.
EAST RIVER, W.Va. — Andrew Dailey has a thought-provoking manner to explain how the Southern West Virginia King’s Warriors will serve as not only a semi-professional soccer team, but also as a ministry team in the area for the next two-plus months.
“…ball is a perfect tool to spread the Word,” Dailey said. “Moses had a staff, we have a ball.”
A collection of nearly 30 athletes from 11 countries gathered at East River Soccer Complex on Tuesday morning for a practice session to prepare for the King’s Warriors season opener on Friday against the South Carolina United Bantams.
Kickoff time at East River is slated for 7 p.m. Ticket prices range from $5 to $8 apiece.
Dailey, who will serve as a goalkeeper coach for the King’s Warriors, encourages the community to check out what is expected to be an exciting brand of what is known worldwide as ‘The Beautiful Game.’
“It is probably going to be the highest level soccer they have ever seen,” said Dailey, who will serve as an assistant under head coach Scott Reitnour.
The King’s Warriors have already produced professional players in its two years of existence, including last year’s leading scorer Billy Forbes, who led the team in scoring with 17 points last season. He recently signed to play professionally with the San Antonio Scorpions of the North American Soccer League.
“It is going to be some of the best players. We have got several future pros on this team, that when they get done they will go somewhere and play pro, they will get paid to play,” Dailey said. “We will play a possession-oriented style, and with our speed it is going to be exciting.
“We have a lot of individual talent and if we can get them working as one unit, it is going to be a lot of fun.”
While the King’s Warriors are a soccer team, that isn’t the most important function served by the organization, which had been based the previous two summers in Beckley.
“We are a semi-professional team where we bring kids from all over the world and different colleges during the summer and we throw them into an environment that a lot of them aren’t comfortable with,” said Dailey, a native of Tupelo, Miss., who is back for his second season with the Warriors…