ABOUT US
The Atlanta Youth Orgnization has been a longtime vision of it's founding members, Mark Bloom, Joey Syfert, and Adam Beckman. All three individuals grew up in Atlanta, and have long envisioned creating an organization that would be able to give back to the community.
With a heavy emphasis on supporting diverse communities, our leadership believes that youth sports serve as the ideal platform to encourage healthy lifestyles, learning about teamwork, and embracing diversity.
The mission is simple: To enrich the lives of Atlanta's youth through sport.
MEET OUR BOARD
Michael Parkhurst
Michael "Parky" Parkhurst was the former captain of MLS Cup winning Atlanta United from 2017-2019. A native of Rhode Island, he attended Wake Forest University before playing professionally for 15 years.
Parky played professionally for 10 years in MLS, including stints with New England Revolution, Columbus Crew and Atlanta United. Some of his accolades include 6x All-Star, 3x Fair Play Award and 2x Humanitarian of the Year. He also played 5 years in Europe including time in Denmark and Germany. Parky is also a US Olympian, having represented Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Since retiring in 2019, Michael has co-founded Beyond Goals Mentoring and a USL Championship team in his home state of RI. He is also the VP of US Sports for Rippleworx Inc. He is married with two children.
Greg Garza
Greg has dedicated his whole life to soccer. He left home at the age of 12 to indulge himself in a completely different country, culture, and environment to follow his true dream of becoming a professional and creating a pathway for his own personal life journey, making him the person he is today. He is fluent in 3 languages (English, Spanish, & Portuguese). Some of his adventures as a professional soccer player include playing in Portugal for 4 years, LIGA MX (Mexico) for 5 years, and the MLS for 4 years (Atlanta United & FC Cincinnati). He was also a member of every single age group for the US Youth National Teams and also played for the United States Men’s National Team.
Greg has always been involved in giving back to the community, serving as an advocate and ambassador for troubled children, the Human Society, Special Olympics, and various other volunteering opportunities within every place he has played. Since retiring he continues to play a strong role in the Metro Atlanta area and also has co-founded Beyond Goals Mentoring, an organization that helps young athletes reach their full potential as a player/person on and off the field.
Greg has three boys who are all involved in soccer and resides in Atlanta, GA.
Jillian Sakovits
Jillian Sakovits is in her fifth season as Atlanta United pre-and post-game host and sideline reporter. She is co-host of The Call Up, an official league podcast and can be seen/heard on ESPN, the Big Ten Network, and SiriusXMFC. Her previous work includes MLS on FS1, MLB.com & NHL.com. Off the field, Sakovits teaches English to immigrants at her local library. She considers her greatest accomplishment the awareness and money raised through the series she created: Beyond the Stands - which showcased the philanthropic side of the game and spanned the globe.
Manolo Garcia
Manolo Garcia is a native of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico where he graduated from Immaculate Conception Academy. He was a team captain for the Soccer, Baseball and Basketball teams.
After graduating High School in Puerto Rico, Manolo at the age of 18 moved to play college soccer at Western Nebraska C.C. and Belmont Abbey College. He also has a Masters in Sports Management from West Virginia University and a Masters in Athletic Leadership from Clemson University.
During his younger years he development a passion for helping in the community. His involvement includes Volunteer Coach at YMCA (Gastonia, NC), Motivational Speaker at Charlotte Catholic School, Special Olympics coordinator, Northfield Elementary School Evening Care attendant, and United Nations International Sports Leadership Summit.
Manolo lives in Atlanta with his fiancée and is currently the Player Personnel Manager at Atlanta United.
MEET OUR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Mark Bloom
Mark Bloom is a native of Marietta, Georgia. A graduate of Lassiter High School, Bloom went on to play collegiate soccer at Berry College in Rome, Georgia.
After graduating college, Bloom began a professional soccer journey that included stops with multiple second division teams, including the Atlanta Silverbacks, AC Saint Louis, and the Charlotte Eagles. In 2013, Bloom joined MLS club Toronto FC where he played for the next four seasons. He was then traded to Atlanta United in 2017 to become part of the inaugural team. Bloom retired as a player at the end of the 2017 season.
Mark Has continued to be a part of the game, serving as the technical director and coach for Georgia Alliance FC. Other community activities include the Atlanta United Unified Team (Special Olympics), serving on the board for Georgia Soccer and serving on the advisory board for the Upper 90 non-profit organization.
Bloom resides in Atlanta with his wife and three daughters. He is currently a Wealth Manager for Legacy Capital Advisors.
Joey Syfert
Raised in Atlanta and defined by his passion for sport, Syfert has spent his entire life on the soccer field. From playing as a kid in Atlanta, to playing Division 1 at Georgia State University, soccer has always been at the heart of his life.
During his younger years, he also played baseball, wrestled and swam which played a large part in his support for youth athletics. At the age of 16, he began coaching local rec programs and over the last 13 years, Joey has held full time directorial positions at some of the top youth soccer clubs in the state.
While working with the US Soccer Foundation and Boys and Girls Club, Syfert realized how much of an impact youth sports can have on a child's life and how much he wanted to be involved in that. Enter Atlanta Youth Organization.
Joey lives in Atlanta with his wife and is currently a director at Concorde Fire Soccer Association where he oversees club operations at the Cobb branch with a focus on making accessible programs for the community.
Adam Beckman
Adam Beckman grew up in Atlanta, GA, where he graduated from Pope High School in Cobb County. During his youth, Adam participated in soccer and basketball.
At the age of 20, Beckman began coaching at both the club and high school levels. He has dedicated much of his life to coaching and fundraising for sports programs. Most notably, Beckman has raised over $100,000 to support both the soccer and football programs at Riverwood High School in Sandy Springs, GA, where he has coached for the past 16 years.
His other charity work has included stints on boards and committees for the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta, The Cobb Community Chorus, and the Riverwood Athletic Association. During his time at BB&T, Beckman served on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee as well.
A graduate of The University of Georgia's Terry College of Business, Beckman is a Real Estate Banker for SouthState Bank.
Sean Merfeld
Currently serving as the Interim Executive Director, Sean grew up in Alpharetta, GA and graduated from Chattahoochee High School. He went on to play college soccer at Mars Hill University and Clayton State University.
Since graduating from university, he has spent his time giving back to the sport by both coaching and refereeing at various levels of competitive soccer. He has worked with various charity organizations though his career as a commercial real estate professional, including helping the city of Atlanta assemble land to build parks and the City of Refuge to acquire land to build apartments for individuals returning from incarceration and victims of sex trafficking.
Sean enjoys giving back to the community, especially kids, as much as he can. He continues these efforts in his position at ATLYO! and looks forward to growing the reach of our programs.
Sean lives with his wife and daughter outside of Athens, GA. He is the owner of Merfeld Properties, LLC which helps investors and developers throughout the southeast.