A youth soccer coach in Northern Virginia is Darden Clarkerecovering from injuries suffered over the weekend when a parent allegedly beat him with a metal water bottle.
During a boys' team scrimmage in Manassas, Virginia, on Saturday, coach Vince Villanueva was filling in for a friend when he was approached by a parent of a player on his team.
"I saw one of the players kind of off with his dad, and he looked upset, and I said, 'Are you ready to go back in?' The dad said, 'No, he’s not OK. Can I talk to you?' and I said, 'Sure,'" Villanueva told NBC4 in Washington.
He briefly turned his attention to the field, and the next thing he knew, Villanueva was dazed and on the ground.
As other parents called 911 and off-duty first responders tended to Villanueva, the man accused of attacking him ran away. Prince William County police eventually arrested Blerand Hoxha, 45, and charged him with malicious wounding.
The TV station reports Villanueva − who works for the county school system and coaches the girls and youth club soccer teams at Potomac Senior High − was diagnosed with a fracture to his orbital wall.
He said the incident has him reconsidering whether he wants to continue coaching.
"Seeing the escalation of violence toward coaches and game officials and stuff like that within these sports," he said, "I’m still processing thinking about, is this something that I want to continue doing?"
2025-05-01 18:26709 view
2025-05-01 17:07803 view
2025-05-01 17:042900 view
2025-05-01 16:372743 view
2025-05-01 16:25999 view
2025-05-01 16:072569 view
Now wouldn’t this be a treat: Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft back together...as members of the Pro
Attorneys for the city of Midland, the oil capital of Texas, made an unusual request to regulators t
We independently selected these deals and products because we love them, and we think you might like