KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Feb. 24, 2021) – The United Soccer Coaches Foundation is excited to announce its newest fund, the Roy and Terrie Gordon Fund, named after the longtime University of Mary Washington head men’s coach and his wife. Roy Gordon has been an active member of the association throughout his coaching career.
The fund, which is planned to be fully endowed by April 2021, will provide scholarships to the United Soccer Coaches Annual Convention for youth, assistant high school, or assistant college soccer coaches from the Virginia and Washington, DC area. As a head soccer coach who had no senior coaching mentor, when he started his career, Gordon found the education opportunities provided by the association to be crucial to his development as a coach.
Roy Gordon began his coaching career in 1970 at the University of Maine Farmington, where he became head coach of both men’s soccer and baseball, in addition to assistant coach of men’s basketball. During his time in Maine, he was instrumental in the establishment of the Maine State Soccer Coaches Association and was named NAIA Area VIII Coach of the Year in 1974.
After coaching in Maine, Gordon moved to Fredericksburg, Va. in 1977 where he served with distinction and dedication for the next 34 years until his retirement in 2011. While at the University of Mary Washington, he founded two varsity athletic programs. In his first year at UMW, he founded the men’s soccer program, followed by the men’s tennis program in 1978. He also served as the advisor to the college’s women’s soccer club from 1978-1982.
During his tenure as the men’s soccer coach, he led the team to eight Capital Athletic Conference championships and advanced to nine NCAA National Tournament appearances, including a final four appearance in 1997. His career won lost record was 432 – 253 – 53. Gordon has been named to the UMW Athletics Hall of Fame, the DC-Virginia Soccer Hall of Fame, and the Virginia Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Hall of Fame.
Gordon started his active participation with the annual Convention in 1985, when he helped secure high school players to serve as demonstrators for the event in Crystal City, VA. He served in many roles in the Association thereafter, including Convention Program Manager, Administrator of the NSCAA Academy Program, and Association President. After serving on the Board of Directors, Gordon continued to work on the association’s Convention Committee and served on the United Soccer Coaches Awards Committee. Gordon is a recipient of the Presidential Recognition Award and The Association’s Honor Award which he received in 2008.
As a career high school English teacher, the number one fan of Roy’s teams, and a regular attendee of the Convention, Terrie Gordon shares with her husband the importance of United Soccer Coaches work in promoting the game, recognizing the accomplishments of the association’s members and helping them to become better coaches.
Terrie and Roy will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in August 2021. Roy and Terrie have two children; Ben who is on the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, and Rebecca, an attorney, living in Washington, D.C. with her husband Scott and their son Evan.