Former Manchester United’s Billy Garton Leaves CV Manchester
The landscape of youth soccer is constantly changing, and San Diego’s spirited soccer community is no exception. The most recent and highly anticipated change is former Manchester United defender William “Billy” Garton leaving CV Manchester and splitting with his long time Co-Director Jeff Illingworth. Garton has now joined the Del Mar Carmel Valley Sharks. Well-known FOX TV commentator and former professional soccer player Warren Barton has joined Garton in the move to Sharks.
Here is the recent interview on William “Billy” Garton’s on his move to the DMCV Sharks.
Diane Scavuzzo: Did you ever think you would leave CV Manchester?
Billy Garton: It is amazing. It is my namesake; with the history I have playing in the famous Manchester United shirt? No, I never thought I would walk away from CV Manchester. While CV Manchester was not officially connected to EPL’s Manchester United, I have always felt I was helping the Manchester United brand by launching CV Manchester with Jeff Illingworth. We were developing new fans. Several Manchester United coaches have come to visit San Diego and watch our players.”
Diane Scavuzzo: Why did you decide to make a change?
Billy Garton: It was time. I think that CV Manchester’s two best options were to merge with another club or for me to move to another club.
Diane Scavuzzo: Why move to the DMCV Sharks?
Billy Garton: The obvious one, the Sharks are another community club – Shannon MacMillan is a fabulous leader and has welcomed us with open arms.
The Sharks are like a sleeping giant waiting to be awoken. They have a fantastic infrastructure and they are super organized. They have a real business structure, including a professional office with paid administrative staff, something Manchester never had. My office last year was the back of my car.
Diane Scavuzzo: Is there a difference between CV Manchester and Sharks in terms of developing elite players?
Billy Garton: Sharks are going to the complete program; it will have every aspect for every soccer player – from recreational soccer to elite player development.
When I came to San Diego, the Sharks Soccer Club was huge. They were the teams to beat, and we could never beat them. The Sharks were the epitome of the competitive program.
I am genuinely excited about working with Shannon. Warren Barton is joining as Technical Director and I am the Director of Boys. Shannon MacMillan is now the Director of Operations over the entire club – both Recreational and Competitive teams.
In terms of the three of us, I do not believe there could be a better three-pronged leadership – Shannon has been at the pinnacle of women’s soccer and won a world cup medal and is very respected in the game, and Warren Barton’s background includes playing professionally at Newcastle United and for England’s National Team, and he is a well known TV personality who commentates on world soccer on FOX.
My intention is to help develop every aspect of the youth soccer program. My strengths are in developing players and coaching young kids. The foundation of every club is its youngest players. The six-, seven- and eight-year-old kids are the lifeblood of a club. Besides being a retired professional soccer player, I am a former teacher as well. Being able to ‘teach’ young kids is important. With the youngest players, you are not really coaching, you are teaching them the fundamentals of the game.
Diane Scavuzzo: What would you tell a prospective family or player who might want to come try out with the Sharks?
Billy Garton: Players should come to try out to play at the Sharks because of our structure and because the people we have in place are second to none. Where else can you find three highly successful professional soccer players running a youth club? We have all played soccer at a very high level and want to share our experiences with today’s youth players.
Three of the teams coached by Billy will be moving over to the Sharks with him, as well as a few others that may wish to join.
Shannon MacMillan has enthusiastically welcomed Garton and the CV Manchester coaches and players who wish to join the Sharks and said, “The Sharks remain committed to investing in our players and we are excited to announce that Billy Garton, Warren Barton, Steve Gonzales and Ryan Penton will be joining the Sharks family. Billy will be joining us as the Director of Boys Competitive and Warren will be the Technical Director for our competitive program. The knowledge and experience all three have, along with their deep passion for the game and teaching, will help solidify our Boys’ program.”
“As coaches, we are teachers first and foremost,” said MacMillan. “We are incredibly fortunate to be able to use the great game of soccer as our platform. Coaches are expected to get to know all of their players and their personalities so that they can individualize their approach. Kids all respond differently and an effective coach/teacher is able to draw out the best in each kid individually as well as a team. It is imperative that we are doing everything we can to instill good sportsmanship and character in our players while also helping them extract the many life lessons that soccer can teach. Lessons such as leadership, work ethic, teamwork, time management, overcoming adversity, commitment, etc, that will all help them succeed in life!
