Story By: John Reeves -Director of Analytics, CaptainU

CaptainU DII Soccer Coach of the Year

Oige Kennedy, Fort Lewis Soccer

Imagine how difficult it is to coach a soccer team. Now, imagine being the first-year head coach of a soccer team on track to win a national championship. You'd be in the same spot as Oige Kennedy, who stepped up and lead the Fort Lewis Skyhawks to a national title in his very first year at the head coach spot. The rookie's audacity and coaching talent make him our choice for 2009 CaptainU DII College Men's Coach of the Year.

Drawing on three seasons of assistant coaching and four years of professional league play in Europe, Kennedy was chosen to serve as interim head coach for the 2009 season. There were certainly high expectations for the Skyhawks, coming off a 17-2-3 season in 2008. But when Fort Lewis toppled Lees-McCrae in an intense 1-0 championship victory, it was clear that the new coach had permanently raised the bar for DII soccer.

Other highlights of the Hawks' season included a monstrous 8-2 win over #6 La Moyne, and an overall finish with 24 wins and 1 loss. Five FLC players were selected to the DII All-Central Region first team.

With such an audacious start, we're excited to see what more great things Kennedy can accomplish with the dominating Fort Lewis program.

To view this story, click on the following link.

http://www.captainu.com/DII-mens-college-soccer-coach-of-the-year-2009