Reece Hands (born 6 October 1993) is a retired English professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
USL League Two
USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...
side Cincinnati Dutch Lions.
In his career he also played senior football in the UK as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for
National League North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...
side
Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...
and
Scottish Championship
The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland
Scotland (, ...
side
Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greeno ...
.
Club career
Hands came to
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
having spent his career playing in youth teams at Sheffield United and Blackburn Rovers. When Hands moved to Blackburn, he rejected a scholarship with
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
to do so.
He signed for
Greenock Morton
Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greeno ...
in July 2013, and made his first competitive appearance in a 1–0 defeat in the
Scottish Challenge Cup
The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Annan Athletic.
Hands was released by mutual consent in January 2015.
Following a successful trial period, Hands signed for
Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...
of the
National League North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...
on 4 August 2016.
While on his Christmas break from the US, Hands signed for
Parkgate F.C.
Parkgate Football Club is an English football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most ...
on 29 November 2018. He made his debut on 1 December 2018 and inspired his team to a 3–2 win. In his second game for the club Hands helped the team to a 4–1 victory against
F.C. Bolsover
Football Club Bolsover was a football club based in Bolsover, Derbyshire, England. They played at Shirebrook Town's Langwith Road ground.
History
The club was originally established in 2013, but were denied entry to the Central Midlands Leagu ...
and got on the score sheet with a side-footed shot into the top right corner. Hands signed for the Cincinnati Dutch Lions of
USL League Two
USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...
for their 2019 campaign.
On 10 May 2019 he made his debut as captain against
West Virginia Alliance FC
West Virginia United (formerly West Virginia Chaos and West Virginia Alliance FC) is an American association football, soccer team based in Charleston, West Virginia. Founded in 2003, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the Americ ...
and led the team to a 3–0 victory. He scored his first goal for the club on 25 May 2019 in a 3–2 loss to
Flint City Bucks
Flint City Bucks is an American soccer team based in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.
The club was founded in 1995 as the Mid-Michigan Bucks, play ...
.
On 13 August 2019 he was named in the
USL League Two
USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...
Central Conference Team of the year .
Coaching career
In 2017 Hands moved to
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, Ohio and started coaching with
U.S. Soccer Development Academy
The U.S. Soccer Development Academy (DA) was an American soccer league. Formed in 2007, the league features youth academies and youth clubs from various organizations, including Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League. The DA's mission ...
club Cincinnati United.
Honours
*
Scottish League One
The Scottish League One, known as cinch League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish League One was e ...