Women’s soccer coach Michael Brady inducted into local Soccer Hall of Fame

BY MIKE UNGER

American University women’s soccer coach Michael Brady walked onto the field at RFK Stadium during halftime of the May 28 D.C. United match and took his place among the legends of local soccer history.

Brady was elected in February to the Virginia State Youth Association D.C. Soccer Hall of Fame, and he was recognized by the United—with several of the 30 Hall of Fame members—for his contributions to and mastery of the sport he has loved practically since birth.

“It’s a wonderful honor,” Brady said. “It’s always nice to be recognized in the community where you’ve lived such a long time, and the soccer community specifically is where I’ve made my life, to a certain degree. I feel very honored.”

Brady was one of six inductees this year who were voted in by a coalition of local soccer media and personalities.

“He was an outstanding player at AU, and a professional for a number of years,” said Len Oliver, chair of the Hall of Fame committee. “He had a good reputation as being a creative forward who could score goals. He’s been in this area coaching for a while, and he’s well known.”

Brady has been a legend at AU since leading the men’s soccer team to within a whisker of the 1985 national title. He was named NCAA Men’s Player of the Year by Soccer America, yet one of his fondest memories from that season two decades past is not from the field, it’s the impact his and teammates’ play had on the AU community as a whole.

“The magic of that season for us was not necessarily the soccer aspect, that just kind of naturally happened,” Brady said. “It was the kind of effect it had on campus and the student body. It caught everybody’s imagination. We had two planeloads of fans fly out to Seattle when we were days away from [academic] finals.”

That season ingrained in Brady a love of AU, and even after the Eagles lost the heartbreakingly historic, eight-overtime final to UCLA, he knew he wanted to remain a part of the university.

Following a successful professional career in which he played in indoor and outdoor leagues throughout the United States, Brady set his sights on coaching.

“It’s classic, as a player you don’t really appreciate what’s really involved in coaching,” he said. “You’re out there sweating and running around, and you look over to the sidelines and think those guys have it easy. They can have a sip of Gatorade whenever they’d like. But it seemed like a natural progression after playing. I’ve always had such a fond association with American [University] and always wanted to settle in this area.”

Five years into his career as head coach of the AU women’s soccer team, Brady has built the program into a Patriot League power.

“I’ve enjoyed the relationship aspect of coaching female athletes,” Brady said. “You want to challenge them and bring them along. At the level that we’re involved with right now we’ve come to realize and appreciate the importance of chemistry and camaraderie. We’re really lucky in that we’ve got a group of girls who enjoy being around each other and work hard for each other.”

Brady’s teams display the same tough work ethic found in his hometown of Coventry, England, a blue collar city 100 miles north of London. There, Brady began playing soccer as soon as he learned to walk.

“It’s right up there with family and religion, in no particular order,” he said of the sport.

As a teenager, Brady traveled to the United States to practice with a professional team in Jacksonville, Fla., that was coached by a family friend from back home. After a week on the field, the coach gave Brady some mixed news. While he was skilled enough to garner a contract offer, the league was going to go belly up in a few months.

Through the wheel of coaching connections, Brady was introduced to AU’s head man. He landed in Washington where he became a three-time All-American, and in 1997 was inducted into AU’’s Athletics Hall of Fame.

Brady now lives in Falls Church, Va., with his wife, Dori, son, Nicholas, and daughter, Noelani. He’s a firmly entrenched member of the AU community and would like nothing more than to lead the women’s team on the same type of wild success ride he captained 20 years ago. In 2002, the women’s team won the Patriot League Tournament and appeared in the NCAA Tournament.

“I often think back to year one or two [of coaching], and the level of intensity and expectations and commitment was not nearly at the level that it is now,” he said. “On the practice field every day we have a good, competitive environment. Players are getting better and better. I’m proud of the kids in the program, the fact that they’re so well rounded. I’ve been lucky, I’ve had a great staff. It’s a positive program and we’re all lucky to be involved with it.”

Joni Comstock, AU’s athletic director, praised both Brady’s playing and coaching prowess.

“We’re particularly pleased about this honor because of his long association with the university,” she said. “He’s made so many different contributions to American University and the athletic department. He is one of the finest soccer players ever to play at AU and also led the team that had the greatest amount of national success. Mike has taken over the women’s program and has brought a great technical background in addition to being a very strong motivator. He’s a mentor of young women in a way that encourages them to be the best they can be in terms of a student, an athlete, and as a person.”