KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Nov. 14, 2023) – The United Soccer Coaches Foundation announced Tuesday that Douglas Orr has been selected as its 2023 William Holleman Award for Meritorious Service. Orr will be honored at the annual Foundation Reception on Thursday, January 11, 2024, in conjunction with the association’s 84th annual convention in Anaheim, Calif.
Established in 2018, the award recognizes an individual or organization that embodies the mission and vision of the Foundation, demonstrates philanthropy by paying it forward through time and monetary giving, and has gone above and beyond to help the Foundation’s philanthropic works. It is named in honor of Bill Holleman, who first envisioned the concept of the foundation and helped organize and establish the organization’s charitable arm in 2003.
Orr became the first Director of Development for the United Soccer Coaches Foundation in 2013 and was instrumental in its advancement at a time the association’s Board of Directors was making a new commitment to its existence. His background in soccer and strong fundraising and organizational skills led him to serve in the unpaid role because of his belief in what the foundation could become as an outreach organization for the underserved in the game.
“I honestly don’t know if we would have gotten the initiative off the ground back then without Doug Orr’s help and commitment to move us forward,” said Al Albert, former Chair of the Foundation Committee and who brought Orr’s name forward for the Holleman Award. “In those early years, no one did more to advance the Foundation than Doug Orr. He helped us make gains during a very difficult and chaotic period for the association.”
A native of Washington, D.C., Orr played soccer at Langley High School in McLean, Va., where he was an All-Metro player. He attended Williams College in Massachusetts where he had an outstanding career as a goalkeeper for the Ephs including team captain and most valuable player in 1979. He followed a coaching path briefly after college and earned both the National and Advanced National Diplomas from what was then the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Orr had stints as an assistant coach at both George Mason University and the United States Naval Academy before becoming Head Coach at the University of Hartford (1987-90) and later served as an assistant coach in professional soccer for the Albany Capitals in the American Soccer League. Orr has also offered his administrative and coaching skills on a volunteer basis with numerous youth and club soccer programs on the local, state, regional and national levels, always with the mindset of giving back to the game and those organizations that support it.
Orr currently resides in San Jose, Calif. with his wife Jennifer and serves as Director of Advancement with Loaves and Fishes, a community organization that feeds homeless families and individuals in the metro Bay Area, by removing barriers and raising funds to get food to the hungry.