John Maessner has announced that he is stepping down as D.C. United’s director of youth development. Maessner, who spent the majority of his Major League Soccer playing career with D.C. United – including as a member of United’s inaugural team in 1996 – has been the director of youth development since the beginning of 2007, taking over at the time for John Harkes. During the most recent offseason, United moved former assistant coach Chad Ashton into the role of technical director, which in part gave him direct oversight of Maessner and D.C.’s youth academy.
Maessner, 40, also played college soccer at Virginia where he developed what is now a longtime friendship with current United head coach Curt Onalfo.
The resignation comes as United’s academy has graduated two players into the first team, goalkeeper Bill Hamid and midfielder/forward Andy Najar, both of whom have made significant contributions this season.
Add Penalty Kicks to your RSS: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Penalty-kicks
Follow me on Twitter: @craigstouffer
