THE ATLANTA SILVERBACKS HAVE APPOINTED FRANKLIN MCINTOSH AS ASSISTANT COACH

Longtime Atlanta soccer figure joins Silverbacks coaching staff

Credits:

Atlanta Silverbacks

The Atlanta Silverbacks have appointed Franklin McIntosh as the assistant coach of the men’s professional team, the club announced Tuesday.

Originally from West Bromwich, England, McIntosh has been in Atlanta for 16 years, first as a member of the city’s professional indoor soccer team, the Atlanta Attack, and then later as a director of coaching and coach for a few of the Atlanta area’s prominent youth soccer clubs. He has also served as a scout for the Silverbacks in recent years.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Silverbacks coaching staff,” McIntosh said. “My goal is to do whatever I can to help Brian and help the club get to where they’re supposed to be – at the top of the league.”

As a player, the Englishman played for a variety of American professional clubs, both indoor and outdoor. After playing at the collegiate level for the New York Institute of Technology, McIntosh was drafted by the Baltimore Blast of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). He would go onto play for three other professional indoor sides, the Harrisburg Heat, St. Louis Ambush, and the Attack, and two professional outdoor teams, the Orlando Lions and Colorado Foxes.

After gaining American citizenship, McIntosh was selected to represent the U.S. in the 1996 Futsal World Cup in Spain and the 1997 World Championships in Brazil.

McIntosh has a long-standing relationship with Silverbacks Head Coach Brian Haynes, as the two were teammates while members of the Attack and the Lions. When Haynes took over the team in August last season, he brought in McIntosh to attend training sessions and observe the team. Since that point, Haynes has felt very good about the prospect of McIntosh joining his staff.

“When the club gave me the opportunity to be the head coach this offseason, Franklin was the first guy I thought of for the assistant coaching role,” Haynes said. “He knows the pulse of Atlanta soccer better than anyone else, and he has an incredible mind for the game. He also still has the same competitive spirit that he had when I played with him, which is something I need on my staff.”

McIntosh has already been on hand for the club’s open tryouts in Atlanta, and will join Haynes and the rest of the team at the start of preseason in the coming weeks.