The fourth Louisville City Academy has inked a full professional deal! Right-back, Owen Damm, is the first new signing of the offseason. Damm (pronounced “Dom”) is a Woodford County grad from Versailles who was a member of the all-state team three times and was selected as a member of the ECNL’s All-Conference team. You might remember his name from the list of players who signed two-way deals last March. Although he is listed as a right-back, he did play higher up on the pitch in high school. Perhaps he may bring some of the attacking versatility from the back, like Jonathan Gomez had contributed. His amateur career finished with a 48-goal season in 19 games this past fall. That ranked him third in Kentucky in scoring and evidenced his attacking prowess.
"I've been following Owen for a long time within our academy, and I've observed him often in training with our first team,” said Coach Danny Cruz. “He’s a young player who has an extremely high ceiling, and we're looking forward to watching his development in the professional setting.”
“I'm thankful for the work that Mario Sanchez, Luke Spencer, and the rest of our academy staff has done to get Owen ready for this opportunity. It's been really impressive to see his growth over the last couple of years. He has an exciting future ahead.”
Not only is this a much-needed positional signing, but it’s also another example of the value of the academy system. Contracts are not just handed out, they are earned. It is exciting to see local talent developed to have the skillset to compete in the USL and meet LouCity’s high bar. He will join Elijah, Josh, and Carlos as part of a growing young core that could become fixtures in the squad for years to come. An interesting twist with his contract is that it includes an academic scholarship where he will continue studying through Bellevue University, the United Soccer League’s Official Education Partner. That flexibility could help to lure in some players that may be hesitant to pass up scholarship offers.
“The scholarship made the decision easy, but there’s also nowhere I’d rather be than Louisville. I love it there — the club and city,” Damm said. “I had college options, but my goal is to be a professional and that opportunity came, so I took it.”
“Training with LouCity last season allowed me to get a really good feel. There’s nothing better to learn from than experience. I also got to see how players carried out their everyday lives, and it’s going to be easier making this transition with academy teammates on the squad.”
“As far as my playing style, I like to get forward on the field and impact the game offensively. Being a midfielder originally, getting up the field is natural for me.”
Check out his SportsRecruit page or the videos below for a sneak peek of this new, young addition.
Current 2022 Louisville City FC Roster
Forwards: Cameron Lancaster, Brian Ownby
Midfielders: Corben Bone, Jay Tee Kamara, Napo Matsoso, Niall McCabe, Carlos Moguel Jr., Paolo DelPiccolo, Elijah Wynder
Defenders: Wes Charpie, Owen Damm, Oscar Jimenez, Sean Totsch, Josh Wynder
Goalkeepers: Parker Siegfried
Parting Thoughts
Want to do a little more reading on LouCity? Might I suggest The Tifos of Louisville City, The Louisville City Youth Movement, Louisville City’s Pathway To The Pros, What Are Expected Goals (xG)?, or What Are Goals Added (G+)?.
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