Jeff Vennell, the athletics director for Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., has been named by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America as the 66th recipient of its Honor Award. The award was presented Friday evening, Jan. 18, at the awards banquet held in conjunction with the 2008 NSCAA Convention in Baltimore, Md.

Vennell has contributed to American soccer as a coach, administrator, educator and author. His coaching career began in 1970, when he was named freshman and assistant varsity coach at Columbia University. One year later he accepted the head coaching position at Williams College. While there his teams won ECAC and NCAA regional championships and he earned New England Coach of the Year honors in 1978. The next stop was Ohio’s Kenyon College where, from 1978-1987, his teams garnered conference championships and postseason honors.

From 1987-99 he was director of sports and recreation for the University of Rochester as well as director of coaching education for the Fairport (N.Y.) Youth Soccer Association. He then moved to Bloomfield Hills, Mich., to his current position at Cranbook Schools. He also serves as director of education for the area’s youth soccer associations. In 2004 he was the recipient of Cranbook Schools’ coveted Dawkins Award for outstanding contributions to the athletic program.

The NSCAA president in 1993, he has served the Association in a variety of capacities, including a stint as vice president of education, and has contributed through its Board of Governors and committees for membership, rankings, strategic planning and the association’s magazine. He also has worked with the NCAA soccer committee and the Men’s and Women’s Soccer Rules Committee.

A member of the NSCAA’s National Coaching Staff since 1987, he received the Mike Berticelli Excellence in Coaching Education Award last year. He has authored or co-authored articles on all aspects of the game and is a member of the Association’s DVD Council, which oversees production of the NSCAA’s educational videos.

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