Atlanta Silverbacks coach Brian Haynes has been named North American Soccer League Coach of the Year.
In his first full season in charge, Haynes led the Silverbacks to the NASL Spring season title and with it the right to host NASL Soccer Bowl 2013 where they will take on the New York Cosmos on Saturday, November 9 at 7.30pm ET at Atlanta Silverbacks Park.
The Silverbacks won on the final day of the spring campaign, beating Minnesota United 3-0 away from home on the Fourth of July to win the first half of the season by a single point with a record of 6 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses.
“I think all of us who have been associated with Brian Haynes for the course of the year are better people for it,” said Silverbacks Technical Director Eric Wynalda. “Brian Haynes was just the right guy for the job and everything I knew and had been told about him, that seemingly made him a perfect fit, was true.”
As a player, Haynes earned twenty-one caps, scoring eight goals, with the Trinidad and Tobago national team between 1987 and 1996.
He was a standout for the Dallas Burn having attended Erskine College, playing on the men’s soccer team from 1986 to 1989 where he was a three time NAIA All American. In the fall of 1989, Haynes signed with the Atlanta Attack of the American Indoor Soccer Association where he was the 1990 Rookie of the Year. Haynes remained with the Attack until 1996.
He began his outdoor career with the Orlando Lions and also played for the Maryland Bays, Colorado Foxes, where he won the 1992 and 1993 APSL championships and the Seattle Sounders, where he won his third APSL and fourth championships. The Dallas Burn selected Haynes in the 4th round (33rd overall) in the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft.
The NASL Coach of the Year was selected from a vote by media who cover the league on a regular basis. In 2012, Ricky Hill of the Tampa Bay Rowdies won the inaugural award.