Youth soccer parent allegedly attacks coach with metal water bottle
A youth soccer coach in Northern Virginia is recovering 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?"
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Virginia youth soccer coach allegedly beaten with metal water bottle
