Tom Fitzgerald was named the National Soccer Coaches Association
of America Coach of the Year on Monday after winning the national
championship in his first year as a UCLA head coach.
Fitzgerald and former coach Sigi Schmid are the only Bruin
coaches to have won the award.
“It’s kind of nice when you receive an award or an
accolade from your peers,” Fitzgerald said. “The NSCAA
is the largest coaches association in the world. I’m
honored.”
The award was given at the NSCAA Awards Banquet, which was held
during the NSCAA Convention in Kansas City.
Fitzgerald led the Bruins to an 18-3-3 record, and a victory
over Stanford in the NCAA College Cup championship game in
December.
“Tom was very good at making sure that we weren’t
too high after a win or too low after a loss,” UCLA assistant
coach Jorge Salcedo said. “Often times, the most deserving
coach doesn’t win the award. That wasn’t the case this
year.”
Before coming to UCLA, Fitzgerald coached Major League
Soccer’s Columbus Crew from 1997-2001.
“I’m thrilled for Tom to be awarded for his
effort,” Betsy Stephenson, the UCLA associate athletic
director who oversees soccer, said. “It’s a great honor
for him and UCLA.”
Under Fitzgerald, UCLA won its first championship since 1997,
when Schmid was the coach. His 18-3-3 record in 2002 was an
improvement from the team’s 12-7-4 record in 2001.