Seven coaches, including the University of North Carolina's Anson Dorrance, rearranged their trophy cases after earning NSCAA/adidas National Coach of the Year honors once again. The winners of the 2006 awards were announced at the annual NSCAA Awards Banquet, held Jan. 12, in conjunction with the 2007 NSCAA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind. The awards were presented by Chris McGuire, Sports Marketing Manager for adidas and NSCAA President Louise Waxler.

Dorrance claimed his fourth NCAA Division I women's award and fifth overall, moving him into second place behind former Indiana University coach Jerry Yeagley for the most National Coach of the Year awards. Dorrance previously won the women's award in 1983, 1986 and 2003 and claimed a men's award in 1987.

The other NCAA Division I winner was Tim Vom Steeg of UC Santa Barbara, who guided his Gauchos to their first national title this season. He also won the award in 2004, when UCSB made its first appearance in the NCAA title game, falling to Indiana in penalty kick overtime.

Others who claimed awards for the second time: Pete Felske, Wheaton College (Ill.), NCAA Division III women; Drew Burwash, Lindsey Wilson College, NAIA women; Jonathan Meade, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, NCCAA Division I women; Stephen Peck Jr., Jefferson College (Mo.), Junior College Division I men; and Paul Rose, Sacramento (Calif.) Jesuit High School, high school boys private/parochial.

Additionally, the NSCAA/adidas College Assistant Coach of the Year Award has been renamed in honor of Glenn “Mooch” Myernick, an assistant coach of the 2002 and 2006 U.S. Men’s World Cup Teams who passed away on Oct. 5, 2006.

The complete list of winners follows.

2006 NSCAA/adidas National Coaches of the Year

NCAA Division I
Men – Tim Vom Steeg, UC Santa Barbara
Vom Steeg claims his second NSCAA/adidas National Coach of the Year award to go with his team’s first NCAA national title. He led the Gauchos to a record of 18-7-0 and gave the school its first team national championship since 1979. The season included a record of 11-1 in the final 12 games, while the victory over UCLA in the championship game marked only the second win over the Bruins by the Gauchos in the program’s history.

Women – Anson Dorrance, University of North Carolina
After a double-overtime loss to open the season, Dorrance led his team on a school-record-tying 27-game win streak. It resulted in Carolina’s 18th NCAA national championship. Two Tar Heels were among the three finalists for the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy, and senior forward Heather O’Reilly was named the NSCAA/adidas Scholar Athlete of the Year. Dorrance’s career record now stands at 629-28-18, a remarkable .945 winning percentage.

NCAA Division II
Men – John DiRico, Dowling College (Mass.)
A three-time NSCAA/adidas Regional Coach of the Year, DiRico earns his first National Coach of the Year honor. In his 15th season at the helm, he has given Dowling its first NCAA national championship. A perennial presence in the NCAA tournament since 1996, DiRico has built a career record of 289-63-32 in his 15 years as coach of the Golden Lions.

Women – David DiIanni, Grand Valley State University
DiIanni led Grand Valley State to a school-best 19-2-1 record on the season as the team broke a number of school records and ranked near the top of the nation in both offensive and defensive numbers. He has guided the Lakers to the NCAA tournament in each of his four years at the helm, including an appearance in the 2006 championship game. In each of the last two years, Grand Valley State ended its season with a loss to the eventual national champion. DiIanni owns a 70-12-3 record at GVSU.

NCAA Division III
Men – Mark C. Ludwig, York College (Pa.)
Ludwig will carry a string of 40 matches without a loss into the 2007 season after his team posted a 21-0-3 record in 2006. York’s season ended in the NCAA quarterfinals, where the Spartans came up short in a shootout to decide the trip to the semifinals. During the past 11 seasons, which includes three years as an assistant, Ludwig has led York to a record of 135-65-10, a .667 winning percentage.

Women – Pete Felske, Wheaton College (Ill.)
Felske has been the only head coach during the 19-year history of Wheaton’s women’s soccer program. This season he won his second NCAA Division III national title with a record of 24-2. His team did not allow a goal during the six games of NCAA Tournament play. Felske now has won 11 consecutive CCIW conference championships and been named league Coach of the Year eight times. The 2004 NSCAA/adidas National Coach of the Year, he has a career record of 277-83-18.

NAIA
Men – Chris Cissell, William Jewell College (Mo.)
Cissell made NAIA history by becoming the first coach to guide both the men’s and women’s teams to the final four in the same season. His men’s team became the first to go through the Heart of America Athletic Conference season undefeated and untied, winning the first conference title in more than 20 years. The Cardinals men’s team ended the season with a record of 18-3-3, falling in the NAIA semifinals.

Women – Drew Burwash, Lindsey Wilson College
Lindsey Wilson earned its second NAIA women’s national championship in the three years they’ve been under Burwash’s direction. Completing the 2006 season with a 24-2-0 record, they battled Azusa Pacific into a fourth overtime before netting the title-winning goal. This is Burwash’s second National Coach of Year selection, having earned the honor previously in 2004.

NCCAA Division I
Men – Kevin Wardlaw, MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.)
Wardlaw directed his team to a record of 12-8-1 and its second NCCAA national title in the past three years. In four years at MNU he has built a record of 55-24-6. During his tenure MNU has won two NCCAA National Championships, three NCCAA Regional Titles and a share of the 2005 Heart of America Conference Championship. Two of his players earned NSCAA/adidas All-America honors this season.

Women – Jonathan Meade, Mount Vernon Nazarene University
In his seventh season leading the Lady Cougars, Meade guided his team to its second NCCAA national title in the past four years with a record of 13-7-2. The founding coach of the women’s program, Meade has compiled a 103-46-5 record. Three of his players were named NSCAA/adidas All-America this season.

NCCAA Division II
Men – Drew Stacey, Southeastern University
Stacey guided his team to a 20-5 record and its first NCCAA national title with a 1-0 win over Philadelphia Biblical University. After three seasons, he holds a record of 44-21-2 at Southeastern.

Women – Tim Prusha, Crown College
In his first season as head coach of the Storm, Prusha led his team to an 18-7 record and the NCCAA Division II national championship. In the NCCAA Tournament, the Storm outscored its opponents 21-4, never allowing more than one goal in any of the five games.

Junior College Division I
Men – Stephen Peck Jr., Jefferson College (Mo.)
Peck led his Jefferson team to a record of 21-3-2 and the NJCAA Division I national title in 2006. In the post-season, his squad outscored its opponents 26-6, concluding with a 2-1 overtime victory over Mercer County Community College. This is Peck’s second National Coach of the Year award, having won it in 2003 while at East Central College.

Women – Kathy Brown, Young Harris College (Ga.)
The founding coach of the Young Harris women’s program, Brown led her squad to the school’s first national team title in any sport this fall. Concluding with a record of 17-1-1, the Mountain Lions finished No. 1 in the NSCAA/adidas national poll and three players were named NSCAA/adidas All-America, including Player of the Year Megan Bruso.

Junior College Division III
Men – Benjamin Artiaga, Cerritos College (Calif.) 
Artiaga led Cerritos to its first California Community College state championship and a ranking of No. 2 in the final NSCAA/adidas national ranking. Posting a record of 20-3-5, the Falcons won with defense, allowing only 12 goals in their last 25 games. In two seasons, Artiaga has record of 32-10-11.

Women – Ashley Gordon, Richland College (Texas)
Gordon helped Richland complete a sweep of the NJCAA Division III titles when her Lady Thunderducks downed Brookdale Community College 1-0 in the championship game. After a 1-4 start, Richland went undefeated in its final 14 games. Gordon posted a record of 14-4-1 in her first season as Richland coach.

High School Division I
Boys – Gary Montalto, Arlington High School (N.Y.)
Montalto’s team posted a record of 25-0 this fall and finished the season ranked No. 3 in the final NSCAA/adidas national poll. He has led teams to five state championship finals, winning three. In 28 seasons as a boys head coach, he has compiled a career record of 490-78-40. Montalto also serves as a regional chairman on the NSCAA/adidas High School Rankings Committee.

Girls – Lee K. Mitchell, Alta High School (Utah)
In his 18th season as head coach, Mitchell’s Alta team won the Utah state 5-A title with a record of 20-0. Along the way his team scored 95 goals while allowing only 10. Two of those goals allowed came in the state championship game, where the Lady Hawks recovered from a 2-0 deficit to win 4-2. It was the fourth state title for the girls team in the past seven years. Alta was ranked No. 2 in the final NSCAA/adidas national poll.

High School Division II
Boys – David Pinkham, Gilford High School (N.H.)
Pinkham led his team to its 21st state championship final this season, with 13 of those trips resulting in state titles. Forging a record of 19-1-1, Gilford scored 101 goals while allowing only 11. During his 30 seasons as a coach, he’s built a career record of 471-39-21. Along the way his teams have set national records for games without a loss (133) and the fewest number of goals allowed in a season (only one). An NSCAA member for 30 years, Pinkham is a member of seven different coaching halls of fame.

Girls – Nina Kearns, Highlands High School (Ky.)
Kearns led her team to a 21-1-3 record and its second consecutive Kentucky Single Class state championship. She has won regional titles and state Small School Coach of the Year honors four times in the last five years and has coached at the high school level for 10 years.

High School Private/Parochial
Boys – Paul Rose, Sacramento Jesuit High School (Calif.)
Against a highly challenging schedule, Jesuit posted a record of 24-2-2 and ended the season ranked No. 14 in the NSCAA/adidas national poll. Rose’s teams have won a total of 23 league titles since 1979, including an active string of 18. This is Rose’s second National Coach of the Year award, having won the honor in 2003.

Girls – Randy Heethuis, Unity Christian High School (Mich.)
With a record of 28-0 in 2006, Heethuis’ team successfully defended its state championship and extended its undefeated streak to 55. During that two-year streak, Unity Christian scored a total of 352 goals, including a state-record 195 in 2005. Heethuis enters his 19th season as a girls coach this spring, and he has served as the boys coach for 13 years. He is a four-time divisional coach of the year.

Youth
Boys – Jorge Roman, Princeton, N.J.
Roman is a member of Life Skills Through Soccer. Every member of his club must participate in community service volunteer programs and every player U-14 and older participates in the Mercer County Special Olympic program.  His teams have won nine New Jersey’s State Cup titles, a US Youth National Championship squad and the US Futsal National Championship. He also served for several years as an assistant coach at Princeton University under coaches Bob Bradley and Jim Barlow. A coach for more than 17 years, and holds a USSF “A” license and the NSCAA Premier Diploma.

Girls – Rudy Meredith, Meriden, Conn.
Meredith is involved with two Connecticut soccer clubs - CFC and Yankee United.  His teams have won six Connecticut State Cup Championships, two Regional Championships and two National Championships. Named the 2006 Connecticut Girls Youth Coach of the Year, his youth coaching resume includes serving as coach of the Kenyan National Team, Region I Olympic Development Coaching Staff and the Connecticut ODP program. He also served as chairman for Connecticut’s Premier Board of Governors and on the state coaching advisory board. He currently is the women’s coach at Yale University.

Assistant Coaches of the Year
High School – Daryl D. Jones, Carroll High School, Dayton, Ohio
A veteran of 26 years of coaching in the high school rankings, Jones, has been named Assistant Coach of the Year five different times at three different schools. He has won the Ohio State Assistant Coach of the Year award twice at two different schools. In his 11 years as an assistant at Carroll High School, he has helped the team to four state semifinals, four regional championships, six district titles and 10 Mid-Miami League crowns. Throughout his career, he has been committed to using sports to teach life skills and building young people of quality and character.

Glenn “Mooch” Myernick College Assistant Coach of the Year – Chris Ducar, University of North Carolina
Ducar recently completed his 11th year as the goalkeeper coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of North Carolina women's soccer program. In addition to playing a key role in helping the Tar Heels find and sign the nation’s top high school players, he has been a mainstay in coaching U.S. women's national teams in international events. He was the goalkeeper coach for the Under-21 National Team which won the 1997 and 1999 Nordic Cup titles. During his time at Carolina, Ducar has tutored three first-team All-America goalkeepers, including Siri Mullinix, a three-year starter for UNC who was the starter for the U.S. in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

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