KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Nov. 18, 2022) – The United Soccer Coaches Foundation announced Friday that Jay Engeln has been selected as its 2022 William Holleman Award for Meritorious Service. Engeln will be honored at the annual Foundation Reception on Thursday, January 12, 2023, in conjunction with the association’s 83rd annual convention in Philadelphia, Pa.
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 grow the Foundation’s philanthropic works. It is named in honor of Bill Holleman, who first envisioned the foundation and helped organize and establish the organization’s charitable arm in 2003.
“With the notable exception of Bill Holleman, no one has had more of a positive impact in the founding and positive growth of the Foundation over the past twenty-plus years than Jay,” said Jeff Vennell, Chair of the Foundation Committee. “Jay has ably served in many roles including chairing the Foundation Committee and notably has administered the grants and scholarships the Foundation awards each year, one of which is named for Jay and his wife Priscilla. The Foundation Committee is proud to have selected Jay as the recipient of the 2022 Bill Holleman Award for Meritorious Service.”
Engeln is a retired high school soccer coach and principal from Colorado who was an early leader with Holleman In the establishment of the foundation. He served as a representative on the initial standing committee and then the first chair of what became the current Foundation Committee. With his involvement now over 25 years, he is credited with being a key leader in helping stimulate the foundation’s growth and reaching goals that ultimately allowed it to make a real impact on the game.
A member since 1980, Engeln was a member of what was then the National Soccer Coaches Association Board of Directors, first as a regional representative and eventually serving as president of the organization in 2000. He was the recipient of the association’s prestigious Honor Award in 2009 and later received the Robert W. Robinson Award for Long-Term Service to High School Soccer in 2017.
The year Engeln served as president of United Soccer Coaches, he also received the honor of National Principal of the Year. Even with all the obligations related to both of those areas, he still found time to serve as a volunteer at ground zero after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. As National Principal of the Year, he became in demand as a guest speaker on a variety of educational issues both domestically and on the international level.
A native of Evanston, Ill., Engeln earned his undergraduate degree from Colorado College where he played for the legendary Horst Richardson, also a previous Honor Award recipient and member of the United Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame. He later received his Master’s degree in Science Education from the University of Colorado in Boulder and then an honorary Ph.D. in Science from Colorado College. Jay and his wife Priscilla now live in Silverthorne, Colo. They have two children, James and Anna, and three grandsons, James, Silas, and Niko.