Since One Knox Soccer Club kicked off its inaugural season in 2022, word’s been getting around. From all angles, it looks like Knoxville was indeed hungry for another professional sports team. Season ticket sales are up, and the 2024 season is looking strong and competitive. The organization’s partnership with UT’s Regal Soccer Stadium, where home games are currently held, has been meaningful. Though, it’s no secret that all eyes are on the Old City Stadium space, where One Knox intends to hold its 2025 season and establish itself there.
“We’ll go from 3000 seats to 7000 seats with suites, party decks, and Tennessee-shaped Jumbotron in partnership with Boyd Sports,” says Drew McKenna, founding member and managing partner at One Knox. “I'm really looking forward to next year.”
Lest one think the professional team’s success is the organization’s prime focus, it’s worth noting that there’s a bigger vision at play, one that positions soccer as an integral sport for a wider population and for a stronger purpose.
“From the outset, we believed in building community and using soccer as a force for good in Knoxville. It’s always been at the core of who we are. Before we played any professional game, we had an adult rec league and had games happening. At the time, there were 80 to 100 players, and now it’s over 2000 players,” says Drew. “On the youth club side, we didn’t anticipate doing it in the beginning, but we had youth clubs approach us and ask about running under the One Knox banner. This started a year ago in May with One Knox Youth Club. Now it has around 900 kids participating. Ultimately, we want to make sure soccer is available for everybody, regardless of ability.”
To accomplish this, One Knox created the Collective, an umbrella of endeavors designed to offer soccer opportunities to a diverse group of players, whether they’re looking for healthy competition, a strong soccer community, or a fun, no-pressure way to learn a few skills.
At the helm of the Collective is Executive Director Sam Weisbrod, who, like Drew, moved to Knoxville from Chicago to help start One Knox.
“From the earliest days, it was our goal to have a club for championships and a club for community. We drew a line under the 501c3 and decided everything underneath that would be purpose-driven,” says Sam. “We’re motivated by impact, so when I think of growth, I’m looking at more opportunities to change lives through soccer. We’re trying to be more than a brand.”
The staff at the Collective have been busy these last couple of years creating new programs, such as Soccer Lab, which pairs STEM education with soccer. They did a pilot run with Girls, Inc. in Oak Ridge where a group of sixth graders played a game of pick-up soccer while wearing GPS trackers. Then, back in the classroom, they uploaded their data into Chromebooks and analyzed it together.
“It speaks to what we’re trying to do – offer soccer to as many people as possible, connect with community partners and other nonprofits. As the guy who looks at the budget every day, we’d love to meet new sponsors,” says Sam.
Currently under the Collective name are all the groups and programs outside of the professional team: Adult Rec, the Youth Club, Monster Soccer, TOPSoccer, and Power Soccer.
The Adult Rec program offers a team for every level of player, from the former college athlete who keeps a competitive edge to the casual pick-up player who needs a lower commitment level. Some teams are co-ed, some aren’t, and if you don’t have a group already in mind, One Knox will help you find one.
“These are folks who want to have fun,” says Drew. “Maybe they played in high school and college, or maybe they’ve never played on a team at all. It’s a traditional rec league with lots of population variation. We have an over-30s league, an all-ladies league, those who want to work out, those who just love soccer. There are no tryouts. Just put your team together. One Knox organizes the schedule, and the winning league gets a mini-keg from Schulz Brau.”
The Youth Club is a component that came after the first professional season was underway, when two established local clubs – Knoxville FC Crush and the Knoxville Reds – merged under the One Knox banner. Categorized by age and gender, the Youth Club offers competitive play for U8-U19 with multiple practices a week, weekend games, and more travel as kids get older. It’s a true club sport with two seasons per year that don’t interfere with the soccer season at school, meaning girls play club ball in winter and spring, while boys play club in fall and winter.
Currently, there’s a small group of high school students practicing with the professional team, and one, Leo Santos, a 17-year-old junior at Alcoa High School, who’s currently playing with One Knox SC. Additionally, One Knox launched a USL Academy based on the European model of training 16- and 17-year-olds for competitive play in college and beyond.
Not to be left out, Monster Soccer is for the youngest group – ages 2 to 8 – where having fun is the main objective, hence the low price point with one practice and one game per week.
“We teach very basic soccer skills and focus on implanting a love of the game. I have two monsters myself!” says Drew. “When they get to 9 or 10 years old, there’s another level of commitment, so we want to make soccer fun and engaging. Then, when they reach that age, they’ll know whether or not they’re ready for the next level.”
TOPSoccer is an adaptive program the Collective is proud to offer, a community-based option for athletes aged 8 to 18 with special needs or disabilities.
“We’re focused on creating a great experience depending on what the individual is capable of. There’s more unstructured play and meeting the players where they are,” says Drew. “That means some are wheelchair-bound and need to interact with the ball in a different way. It’s not about scoring goals as much as it is about having fun.”
To accommodate players’ varying needs, a Buddy is assigned to each player to ensure safety, support, and engagement. TOPSoccer Buddies are volunteers who, once trained, will be paired with a player for the whole season, a method that promotes strong bonds and establishes trust on and off the field.
“One of the cool stories we have – a great family, the Gleasons, have five kids. Three are biological and two are special needs kids they adopted, Sawyer and Kai. They’ve spent their whole lives on the sidelines rooting for their siblings, but now their siblings can be their fans,” says Drew. “That’s the dream. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Power Soccer, a long-standing national program that One Knox is partnering with, offers competitive soccer opportunities for wheelchair-bound players. The program has already been in Knoxville for a decade, but under One Knox, they’re hoping to bring attention and funding for necessary equipment.
“We want to be affiliated with them and advance their work. There’s a new chair they’re eager to get, which is about $8000 a piece. It would be unfair to get one chair, so we want to raise $100,000 to afford 12 chairs,” says Drew. “Then they can start traveling and playing other teams in the region.”
Since One Knox’s inception, they’ve been partnering with schools and organizations around town for field use, a kindness that hasn’t gone unnoticed or unappreciated. Still, the group is eager to establish their own space, a big enough place in Knoxville to call home.
“We think of it as a local problem, the lack of field space, but it’s also a lack of six to ten fields in one place. Most cities this size have that, so it’s difficult to host large events,” says Sam. “We hosted a large event in the spring but held it over four locations, so it was scattered. We’d love to have the professional team training next to the youth teams. For the city and county, it’s a win-win model.”
There’s already some crossover between the professional soccer team and the rest of the organization. The coaching staff is integrated throughout, and six pro players help coach in the Youth Club. They visit schools and organizations, and, in turn, the young players in the Collective groups come out to support and cheer on their hometown team.
“I have four kids, and my oldest is six. When he looks at our pro players, he thinks they’re superheroes,” says Sam.
One Knox has a strong vision, one that aligns with the growth soccer is already experiencing, not just nationally but regionally and locally. They’re building something both for and beyond the professional team, and the response has been consistently positive.
“Soccer For All is a phrase we use all the time. It’s a great rallying cry but it’s also a challenge. How do we make soccer available for everyone, even with mobility challenges?” says Drew. “We want to live up to that calling.”
Learn more at OneKnoxSC.com.
“From the earliest days, it was our goal to have a club for championships and a club for community." - Sam Weisbrod
"Ultimately, we want to make sure soccer is available for everybody, regardless of ability.” - Drew McKenna