OUR STORY

2012

From YMCA Fields to Building a Legacy of Faith, Family, and Football.

Golightly FC was born from humble beginnings in 2012. It all started when Coach G and his two oldest children, DeWayne Jr. and Zamar, joined their local YMCA recreational league.

What began as a fun weekend activity quickly grew into a burning passion. Coach G poured his heart into every session, and the Golightly kids competed with intensity far beyond their years. That same drive, however, soon outgrew the small YMCA league — they were simply too competitive to stay.

2014

A Dream Denied, a Vision Born

In 2014 the family joined their local club, MSC, after board members promised Coach G, a head-coach position if he could recruit enough players for a new team. When the team was finally assembled, the board voted him out at the last moment — deciding he was “unfit” to coach.

Rather than give up, the Golightlys packed their bags and headed to Nortonville, KY, where five children — Zamar, DeWayne Jr., Aletheia, Yehoshua, and Eli — joined the Hopkins County Youth Soccer Association. There, Coach G formed a travel all-star team that competed across Kentucky. It didn’t last long; politics and conflict struck again. Yet even in hardship, a seed had been planted. That seed would later become Golightly FC.

2015-2017

Against the Odds

The family was invited to join the Pennyrile Valley Strikers, where the Golightly kids flourished under new mentors Rhett Miller and Adam Ball. Coach G earned his national D License, and funny enough, DeWayne Jr. and Zamar defeated the very MSC team their father had once built.

Two seasons later, after countless tournament wins, the family moved again — chasing higher-level competition with the Paducah Pumas, a powerhouse club. The Pumas later on entered the SLYSA League (Located in Saint Louis Missouri)with the addition of the Golightly family. The Golightlys often drove 20 hours a week for practices and matches, sacrificing weekends, comfort, and sometimes even meals just to keep the dream alive. Each sibling led their divisions in goals — each 35 to 50 goals in just eight weeks — but constant adversity followed. In 2017 The Golightly's left the club.

2018-2021

TRIALS

Back home in Madisonville, DeWayne Jr. and Zamar made varsity for Madisonville North Hopkins High School at ages 13 and 14. They faced bullying, covert racism, and isolation, yet persevered.

In 2021 Zamar joined a club in Carbondale, IL, becoming one of the top players in all of SLYSA — leading in both goals and assists, winning her league title. Coach G returned to coaching, and the family joined a new club in Marion, IL, with DeWayne receiving multiple Division I letters from schools such as Penn State and St. Louis Billikens. But again the cost of travel became too great; weekends on the road, meals skipped, nights slept in the car. Still, faith carried them through.

2022-2023

Full circle

After years of travel and grit, the family returned home — back to the YMCA, where it all began. Each Golightly coached and played, and every team went undefeated. Out of that success, Golightly Athletics was born: a training academy devoted to developing young players through faith, discipline, and technical mastery.

Soon, Golightly Athletics entered a winter league (CMTC) and dominated so completely that opposing teams began targeting their players. When hostility and racial tension erupted, Coach G pulled his teams out — choosing integrity over trophies.

That same winter, the family filed paperwork to start their own club. They waited months with no reply, continuing to coach YMCA teams through another undefeated season. Then, when the season ended, their approval arrived. The timing was divine — God had opened the door.

2024-2025

The Rise of Golightly FC

launched, beginning with 3v3 tournaments. Their debut season brought three titles. By fall 2024 the club fielded three full squads, with a core philosophy of Discipline, Respect, and Humility.Golightly Athletics continued to sponsor and train the players — most of whom came straight from YMCA recreational soccer.

Under Coach G’s guidance, players learned everything from technical fundamentals to advanced tactics: passing, communication, checking shoulders, scanning, being goal-side, the three S’s, the Barcelona Turn, and when to unleash creativity. In their first season, the club earned runner-up honors and a few key wins.

By Spring 2025, two of three teams captured titles at the Queen City Classic. In Fall 2025, Golightly FC’s Middle School team went undefeated, scoring seven goals per match — proof that the foundation was firm.

Spring 2026

A Season Built on Sacrifice.

This was the first season many of these athletes had ever played together. Despite that, they quickly became one of the most competitive groups in the region, earning victories and draws against multiple #3 in the state of Kentucky and Tennessee.

Many of our players traveled from outside our local area. Coaches and club staff regularly spent hours on the road, making multiple two-hour round trips each week to ensure players could attend training and return home safely.

When families faced financial barriers, coaches and club leadership chose to sacrifice their own pay so those players could continue competing and pursuing their dreams.

Our club captured tournament championships in Evansville, Bowling Green, and Clarksville. Multiple Golightly FC teams finished the season ranked among the top; U13 #9 and U14 #15 in Kentucky.

Spring 2026 proved what can happen when God gives you the opportunity, when families and coaches commit to a shared vision, and when a club refuses to let circumstances define its future.