RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Kickers are pleased to announce that David “Mac” Phillips will join the technical staff as assistant coach, stepping into the role effective immediately, the club announced Wednesday.
Phillips joins the Kickers with an experienced coaching resume and a track record of dedication to soccer in the Richmond area. The Rocky Mount, Va. native most recently served as assistant and goalkeeper coach for the Richmond Ivy, fostering a goalkeeping unit that helped elevate the team to a 6-3-3 record during the 2026 campaign. Phillips served as acting head coach on June 4, 2026, leading the Ivy to a 3-1 win over Annapolis Blues, sparking a seven-game unbeaten stretch to end the season.
“We are excited to add Mac Phillips to our technical staff,” said CEO and Chairman Rob Ukrop. “After completing this summer as a key member of our Richmond Ivy coaching staff, we felt his experience as a former William and Mary player, college coach at Hampden Sydney, and recent experiences working in the youth clubs space including FC Richmond and Skyline Elite adds a personal touch and strong soccer IQ to our staff.”
Alongside Phillips’ 2026 season with the Richmond Ivy, he most recently served on the girls academy staff at Skyline Elite Soccer Club. In addition to his role with Skyline Elite, Phillips was the challenge program coordinator for the Soccer Organization of the Charlottesville Area (SOCA). In that role Phillips led SOCA’s advanced recreational program, leading and maintaining a league with more than 50 teams, including U10-U15, boys and girls.
Before stepping into his roles in the Charlottesville area, Phillips served as assistant director of coaching and director of goalkeeping at FC Richmond from 2021-25. Phillips was directly responsible for overseeing over 35 travel teams across four leagues while serving as head coach for multiple age groups. He also founded and managed FC Richmond’s advanced development program and constructed the club’s first ever game model, demonstrating an ability to make coordinated tactical decisions.
“It means a lot getting an opportunity in Richmond with the Kickers and taking this step forward in my career is a blessing,” said Phillips. “I’m excited to work with and support the players, Coach Ownby, and Coach Munn.”
In addition to his work at FC Richmond, Phillips held a series of coaching positions in Virginia, serving as a volunteer assistant soccer coach at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) from 2024-25 and as a head coach in Chesterfield County Public Schools from 2022-25. Phillips began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Hampden-Sydney College from 2018-21, where he helped the team win its first Old Dominion Athletic Conference title in 2019.
Phillips began fostering his coaching connection while logging a four-year collegiate career at William & Mary from 2012-16. While dressed in green and gold, Phillips would appear in 36 matches across his time in Williamsburg, registering 110 saves and securing a 1.11 goals-against average. The goalkeeper’s most statistically successful season came in 2013 as a redshirt freshman, where Phillips started all 19 matches in goal and was named to the CAA All-Rookie Team alongside a CAA-best nine shutouts. As a student, Phillips served as the goalkeeper coach and advanced development program coach for the Virginia Legacy Soccer Club from 2015-17.
