CONVERSATION WITH HICKORY FC'S COACH
'Thank you with capital letters, bold and exclamation points'
Carlos Rubio talks to his Hickory FC players during the Southeast conference championship match on July 12, 2025.
Members of Hickory FC's fan club, the 28601, celebrate before the 2026 home opener in Hickory.
Bruce Monks (left) and Paige Monks talk with other Hickory FC fans before the home opener on May 16 in Hickory.
Hickory FC's James Lane, left, goes up against Wake's Lawson Abass on June 20 at Moretz Stadium.
SOCCER
For Hickory FC head coach Carlos Rubio, anything short of a national championship is underachieving.
The club came up short of that goal in its third season when a 0-0 tie with Asheville City SC on July 11 left the team one point short of making the playoffs. Still, the season was a strong debut for the club in its new league, USL League Two, and Rubio thinks there were good things this season that they can build on to get back on the big stage.
The club finished 9-4-1 with marquee wins over Asheville City SC and Port City earlier in the season and a match with USL League Two defending champions Vermont Green that went to penalty kicks.
Rubio recently answered a few questions about Hickory FC's season.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity:
What are your thoughts on the club's first season in USL League Two?
The way we see it, anything but a national championship is underachieving. We have the setup, we have the ownership group, we have the community and we have the players to always be challenging for a national championship. That's the expectation we have set here from the start.
It also shows how competitive this league is, especially in our division, where 28 points doesn't guarantee you a playoff spot. It's exactly what we want to be part of. We wouldn't want it any other way. We want to be part of a division that is extremely competitive, and that's exactly what our fans want to see.
I'm really pleased with the boys, with the team, with the culture that we continue to build every single year and with our community and ownership group that continue to provide an environment that it's safe for me to say is the best in the country.
Tell me about the positive things from this season you can build on?
It's difficult to get 18to 25-year-old young men to buy into a community and culture and play for something bigger than their own personal goals and ambitions. ... It's difficult to convince young men to come and put those aside and always have that in service of the collective. So that is a positive I'm taking from this year.
We have continued to create an environment that our community is proud of. Regardless of winning, drawing, losing, we always left the pitch with a standing ovation from our fans. I think it comes down to the character that we have inside the club and how hard they fight for the community, not just for themselves.
Second, I think we were a really good team. Unfortunately, there were some injuries during the season and tensions that we can agree or disagree with that did play a factor in the later stage of the year, but when I look back, I'm really proud of every single one of the players.
They should be proud of what they have done.
Do you think you were able to bring in a higher caliber of recruits?
I think more so, it's that USL-2 has a larger visibility when it comes to social media and the level of competition.
I haven't changed our recruitment style. We always recruit the player and not the school.
When we were part of the NPSL (National Premier Soccer League) as a young club with one year of existence, it was tougher to recruit that caliber of player. But when you have a national championship, regardless of the level, and have the kind of support that we are able to show the recruits, I feel confident we will be able to recruit the same caliber of player. We always want to go for the best players.
What are the things you think you can learn from after this season?
There are a large amount of games in a short amount of time. It was something that when we went in, we were not expecting, as the league expanded the amount of games.
If you go back into our rosters and our starting lineups, we have not repeated a single match roster and we have not repeated a starting 11. That was the approach this year, making sure we keep the team fresh and keep rotating players. We had a lot of players of quality. With that rotation, obviously, you're fresher, but it also affects a little bit of the chemistry.
That's something we want to evaluate as a staff and, right now, I don't have the answer, if we do the same approach or change it, but that is something we want to evaluate.
Is there anything you would like to say to the community and the fans?
Thank you with capital letters, bold and exclamation points. It's incredible the environment our fans are able to provide Wednesday and Saturday nights.
We're talking about Wednesday nights, 90-degree weather, and we'll have 4,000 fans.
Regardless of the context, regardless of what is happening, regardless of the weather, regardless of the opponent, their support is unwavering. They hold us accountable, and we want to do everything we can to pay them back for their support and their love.
