The soccer community was stunned on Saturday upon hearing the
news that former UCLA men’s soccer coach Tom Fitzgerald had
been killed in an auto accident.
Fitzgerald was injured in a motorcycle accident just south of
Tampa, Fla., where Fitzgerald was coaching, and was taken to Tampa
General Hospital, where he later passed away.
Tampa University athletic director Larry Marfise told the Daily
News that Fitzgerald was en route to a tournament in Brandenton,
Fla. when his motorcycle was hit by a sport-utility vehicle around
10 a.m. EST.
The 52-year-old Fitzgerald, who coached at Tampa from 1987-1995,
rejoined the program in 2003 after resigning from UCLA in 2002 to
be closer to his two sons and grandchildren.
The passing of Fitzgerald hit the Bruin community especially
hard. The former coach (2002-2003), who led the team to its last
national championship, became the first coach to win the NCAA
Championship in his first season at the Division-I level.
“You hear about tragedies and accidents, but what happens
to a good friend ““ words can’t describe it,” UCLA
men’s soccer coach Jorge Salcedo said. “If
there’s a word, it’s surreal. I talked to Tom last week
when we lost to St. John’s. We were disappointed about the
loss, but after something like this there’s no parallel.
Something like this makes you realize how precious life
is.”
Salcedo played under Fitzgerald as a Junior Youth National
player and as a professional player while Fitzgerald was at the
helm of the Columbus Crew (1996-2001) in Major League Soccer. The
two would later meet up in Westwood when Salcedo became an
assistant coach under Fitzgerald.
“I got to know him in every capacity, and that’s
what makes this so hard because of how quickly this
happened,” Salcedo said. “Tom had such a different
approach at UCLA. His approach, management and the environment he
created has never been seen before.
“He obviously was a success, but hopefully people remember
how good of a person he was and the great sense of humor and love
of life Tom had.”
During his tenure at UCLA, Fitzgerald and the Bruins captured
the program’s first ever Pac-10 Conference title in 2002.
Fitzgerald would follow up that national championship year with
an undefeated Pac-10 season and an overall record of 20-2-1 in
2003.
In his 12 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Fitzgerald amassed
an impressive 176-46-16 record.
The loss of a Bruin great left many of his former players
speechless after receiving the disheartening news.
“I was just shocked, completely shocked. I feel pretty
shaken up,” sophomore defender Patrick Ianni said.
“He’s one of the most special guys I have ever met and
been around.”
In commemoration of Fitzgerald, the UCLA women’s players
wore black armbands during their NCAA Championship match on
Sunday.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday at 1 p.m. EST in Tampa,
Fla.