As Louisville City FC works on the field to defend its back-to-back United Soccer League titles, Mario Sanchez has been spending his time in schools, charities and city hall to promote the team in a different way.

Sanchez, a former Louisville men's soccer assistant, was hired by Louisville City in January as the team's director of youth development and community relations. In basic terms, he said his job is to grow soccer locally.

"I'm just really bringing the sport to them and giving them an outlet to become players, fans of the game, and hopefully do that through Louisville City," said Sanchez.

More:Louisville City FC roster tracker: Who's leaving? Who's coming back?

In his first few months, he's already helped build soccer fields at William Harrison Park, met with students at Roosevelt Perry Elementary, and brought a Power Soccer team under the Louisville City name.

In terms of youth programs, Sanchez said he is just getting started. The club is thinking ahead — and big.

"Basically, I’m going to have the task of building youth soccer in this area, or giving a platform to kids and hopefully ... form a youth program that we’d love to see kids grow up and eventually play for Louisville City first team," he said.

Here's a look at four other recent hires working behind-the-scenes for Louisville City:

Danny Cruz, Assistant Coach

After beating Indy Eleven in last year's USL playoff opener, it was Cruz who was credited as the mastermind behind the Louisville City's three set-piece goals.

Scouting is the primary responsibility for Cruz, who joined the team in September, just months after he retired after a career with 137 appearances in MLS. He works closely with coach John Hackworth, who he started played with when he was 16.

"At the end of the day it’s up to the players to do it and they’ve done a great job," Cruz said. "I can’t say enough about them. I love being here, I love working for this club, most importantly, I love working for that manager and those players.”

Also:Louisville radio host Howie Lindsey joins Louisville City FC

Howie Lindsey, Director of Media Relations

If you're a Louisville Cardinals fan, you know Lindsey, either through his coverage online on the Louisville SportsReport and CardinalSports.com, or his morning radio show on 790-WKRD.

Lindsey joined Louisville City last month, where he handles the team's media relations, promotes the club and serves as a "familiar public face." He's still been doing radio, co-hosting Soccer City Radio, Louisville City's weekly show.

"You'll still find me tweeting and writing about the Cards on CardinalSports.com, and I hope Louisville and Kentucky fans will join me at Louisville City games this Spring and Summer as Coach Hackworth and the Boys in Purple take the field to defend their title — again," Lindsey said after he was hired.

Andrew DiLallo, Director of Operations

Whether it's planning away trips, finding a practice field, or organizing a team meal, DiLallo is the team's "all-purpose" employee working behind the scenes.

If he's doing his job correctly, he said Hackworth and Cruz "don't have to worry about anything other than coaching." A former soccer player at Davidson, DiLallo worked with Hackworth for three years before following him to Louisville in October. While he enjoys working closely with the coaches, he has no aspirations of being one himself.

"I’ve always been more interested in kind of how things work versus the final product," he said. "I get enjoyment just walking into a place and saying, ‘This place is run well.’”

Schedule:Louisville City FC opens the 2019 season with back-to-back road games

Evan Floyd, Partnerships and Community Relations Executive

If you've spent time in the Supporters Section, you know Floyd as the bearded superfan and podcaster. But you'll see less of him in the crowd in 2019.

Floyd, who joined the front office a month ago, helps coordinate and promote Sanchez's community efforts and communicates with charitable organizations. He also works with corporate partners to make sure "they get what our salesman sell them," including public-address announcements and stadium signage.

Looking back:Two Louisville City FC players are headed to MLS' Orlando City SC

"I think (Louisville City president) Brad Estes finally got tired of me peppering him with emails like, ‘Hey, why aren’t we doing this? Maybe we should be doing this? How about this?’ Finally, he just said, ‘Fine, you come do it,'" he said

Justin Sayers: 502-582-4252; jsayers@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @_JustinSayers. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/justins.