At the annual January convention of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), the NSCAA Foundation announced a new, endowed fund, The Miller Bugliari Fund, as well as the first recipients of grants and scholarships from the fund.

The NSCAA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the NSCAA, was created on then NSCAA president Bill Holleman’s recommendation made almost twenty years ago. Today, the NSCAA Foundation manages an endowment of almost $300,000, engages in fundraising activities, and conducts a grant application and review process that includes multiple awards promoting diversity, social change, and assisting underserved populations and geographic areas primarily through soccer coaching education.

Named, endowed NSCAA Foundation funds are generally created by the former players, families, and friends of coaches as a way to honor these coaches who have made a lasting, positive impact on their players, programs, and communities. Such is the case with The Miller Bugliari Fund.

Bugliari is the long-time coach of the Pingry School (NJ) boys’ soccer team. He has coached Pingry since 1960 during which time his teams have accumulated over 750 wins as well as 20 state championships. Bugliari has been a member of the NSCAA for 50 years. He is a former president of the NSCAA, an NSCAA Honor Award recipient, a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, and one of the founders of the NJ Soccer Coaches Association.

The first Miller Bugliari Fund grant was awarded to the Denkyem Foundation, a Willingboro, NJ, non-profit organization founded in 2006 that provides sports/recreation, health/welfare, emotional, social, and academic support to approximately 650 underserved, economically disadvantaged youth in 16 communities.

The first Miller Bugliari Fund Scholarship was awarded to Kingsley Asomaning, who was born in Ghana, moved to the USA, and when his work as an engineering technician was reduced, turned his energies to helping underprivileged youth through soccer by founding the Denkyem Foundation, which is the recipient of the 2012 Miller Bugliari Fund Grant.

For additional information about or to make a donation to the NSCAA Foundation, including The Miller Bugliari Fund, please visit NSCAA.com/foundation or contact: Al Albert, Chair of NSCAA Foundation: afalbe@wm.edu.

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