Hugo Salcedo of Cerritos, Calif., has been named the recipient of the 2008 Jerry Yeagley Award for Exceptional Personal Achievement.

Hugo Salcedo (left) accepts the 2008 Jerry Yeagley Award from NSCAA Hall of Fame member Jerry Yeagley.

As founder and president of the Southern California Youth Soccer Organization, Salcedo has spanned cultural barriers and improved the lives of many disadvantaged youngsters in the area. The organization has reached out to more than 30,000 youths through the game of soccer to motivate them to stay in school. He has received numerous awards and commendations in recognition of the development of this program and other similar projects.

As a player, Salcedo represented the United States at the 1971 Pan American Games in Cali, Columbia and the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, earning five caps in international competition.

He spent 25 years as a medical social worker for the Los Angeles County Department of Hospitals. In 1976, he became a member of the U.S. Soccer Federation Board of Directors and an Olympic representative. In 1982 he began a three-year stint with the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, where he was responsible for the operational aspects of the soccer competition.

In 1985 he began serving FIFA as a general coordinator for Olympic and World Cup venues, including the 2006 Men's World Cup in Germany. His duties with FIFA expanded in 1992, when he began organizing and implementing the administrative portions of the FIFA Futuro Courses. He has conducted courses in countries ranging from Barbados to Surinam and Uzbekistan.

Salcedo was presented the award by former Indiana University men's soccer coach and NSCAA Hall of Fame member Jerry Yeagley at the NSCAA/adidas All-America Luncheon Jan. 19, 2008 in Baltimore, Md., in conjunction with the NSCAA Convention. The award was established in 2006 to honor Yeagley. It is presented annually to a past or present intercollegiate soccer player who has demonstrated exceptional personal achievement and extraordinary accomplishment that transcends normal expectation.