CONYERS, Ga. — You’d be forgiven for not yet hearing of East Atlanta FC.
Scheduled to begin play in 2020, COVID-19 effectively derailed the Legends’ inaugural campaign. They instead played out an exhibition season, which was deemed an overall success despite contributing to the team flying under the local radar.
But now, in its first season an official member of USL League Two, the area’s lone pre-professional soccer team is on the verge of qualifying for the playoffs.
And it’s clamoring for your support.
“We want the community to feel proud of it and support it and get around it,” East Atlanta head coach Sam Walker said of his club. “Our technical director, Harry [Kustick], has set up some of our PR events, being around the local community. That’s been fantastic. The boys, the players, have responded so well to that by getting out into the Conyers area, the Covington area, and just seeing the people in the community.”
The East Atlanta Football Club is stationed at the Rockdale Youth Soccer Association (RYSA) fields off of Old Salem Road in Conyers, which serve as its home pitch for training and matches. The Legends reside in United Soccer League (USL) League Two, which is a developmental organization to which similarities can be drawn from MLB’s minor leagues and the NBA’s G League.
USL League Two’s season runs from May 1 to the third week of July, allowing players to participate without costing them time on the pitch with their respective college or high school programs.
“A lot of people see the league and they call it professional, which it’s not. It’s pre-professional,” East Atlanta Executive Director Kelley Shirah explained. “USL League Two bridges that gap and provides those opportunities for players in between youth leagues and college. And then college players come in and work toward professional contracts. Being tied in with the USL matrix all the way up to MLS provides a direct pathway to the pros for the players.”
Shirah and Walker believe the path-to-pro pipeline is part of what will make their club desirable to support. While the community rallies around the Legends, supporters will be able to watch their favorite players develop before their eyes as some men earn shots to prove themselves at the professional level, while others become pillars for the club.
East Atlanta’s roster also provides a unique blend of local and international players.
Fans from the area will be able to cling to familiar faces such as Jordan Beam, a recent Eastside graduate who signed with Georgia State this spring. But they’ll also adopt players who’ve been recruited from all different walks of life — both around the country and internationally.
“We’ve got some fantastic guys here that all want to be successful,” Walker said. “The most important thing is the recruitment. I’ve got to make sure that we’re bringing in the right players off the field as well as on it.”
It appears Walker and his staff have recruited a mixture of players that have equated to a winning formula in 2021.
Entering the weekend, East Atlanta had six points left on the board with two matches to go. The Legends handled their business against Dalton on Saturday, pouncing on the Red Wolves early and often en route to a 3-0 victory to garner three points. With three playoff spots from the Deep South Division up for grabs — and two already clinched — the club ended the weekend positioned in third place with 18 points.
East Atlanta was scheduled to close out the regular season Tuesday on the road against the Charlotte Eagles, who sat in fourth place with 17 points. A victory would go a long way toward punching the club’s ticket to the big dance.
Regardless of Tuesday night’s outcome, however, the foundation for the future has been laid. East Atlanta FC is an exciting pre-professional club that Newton and Rockdale county residents can pour their hearts into supporting.
The Legends are desperately seeking the backing of its community — and they’re going to do what it takes to earn that.
“Seeing people getting excited about the program is awesome. It’s why you do it,” Walker said. “We want to be successful on the field so [our supporters] can be as proud of us as we are are of the community.”
