Sporting Kansas City has announced the promotions of two members on the club’s technical staff, appointing Joey Harty (pictured above) as Director of Sports Performance and Science and Alphonso Thompson (pictured below) as Head of Strength and Conditioning.
Harty, formerly Sporting’s assistant fitness coach from 2018-2019, will manage all aspects of the club’s performance department from the academy to the senior team. He will also oversee day-to-day training plans on and off the field, including work in the weight room, soccer session planning, on-field movement training, data analysis and more, aiming to optimize player health and performance.
After serving as the Sporting KC Academy strength and conditioning coach last year, Thompson will carry the same role for the first team in 2020. Thompson will assist Harty with the same objectives as they work in tandem alongside Sporting’s medical staff.
Harty joined Sporting’s organization in January 2016, serving as a fitness coach for the Sporting Kansas City Academy. He spent the 2017 season as head fitness coach for Sporting KC II, helping the team to a Western Conference championship and an appearance in the USL Cup Final. The Colorado native then transitioned to assistant fitness coach for Sporting’s first team in January 2018 before landing his current role with the club.
Prior to arriving in Kansas City, Harty was the head strength coach for Phoenix Rising FC during the 2015 season. While working in the USL Championship, Harty also spent three years as the men’s and women’s soccer strength and conditioning coach at his alma mater, Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.
Harty boasts nearly eight years of athletic training experience, having served as the head performance coach for Phoenix Premier Youth Soccer Club while at Grand Canyon from 2013-2015. He attended the college from 2010-2014, played for the men’s soccer team from 2010-2012 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science. In addition to holding several professional licenses and certifications in athletic performance, Harty is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
Thompson has almost seven years of sports performance experience and landed his first role with a professional soccer club in 2014 as Sacramento Republic FC’s assistant strength and conditioning coach. He held the same role in the Fresno State University soccer program from 2015-2016 before joining Fresno City College, where he helped the women’s soccer program to a national championship in 2017.
While working at the collegiate level in Fresno, Thompson also served as the head performance coach at Fresno Fuego FC (2016-2017) and the head strength and conditioning coach at Fresno FC (2017-2018), spending the 2018 campaign in the USL Championship. He then moved to Kansas City in early 2019, becoming the Sporting KC Academy’s strength and conditioning coach and working with players at the U-9 through U-19 levels.
In 2013, Thompson earned his bachelor of science degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science from Arizona State University. He received his master’s degree in Kinesiology: Sports Psychology two years later at Fresno State.
