Tom Fitzgerald (soccer)

Tom Fitzgerald (March 14, 1951 – December 4, 2004) was an American soccer coach.

Fitzgerald played soccer at the University of South Florida, where he graduated in 1974. He got his first head coaching job at Jesuit High School in Tampa, Florida where he coached from 1978 to 1981. He led the team to two district championships with a 35-11-6 record.

He was hired by the University of Tampa as an assistant coach in 1981 and became the team's head coach in 1987. He led the team to five Sunshine State Conference championships and a Division II Men's Soccer title over Oakland University in 1994. During Fitzgerald's nine years as Tampa's head coach, his coaching record was 132-32-11, a 75% winning percentage.

In 1996, Fitzgerald left the University of Tampa for Major League Soccer when he was hired as an assistant coach for the Columbus Crew. During the season, he was then promoted to head coach, leading the team to a 9-1 record over the last 10 games of the season. He led the team to the U.S. Open Cup finals in 1998, where they lost to the Chicago Fire. With the Crew, Fitzgerald posted a 70-67-7 record before being fired six games into the 2001 season.

By 2002, Fitzgerald returned to the college ranks, this time with the Division I UCLA Bruins. In his first season helming the Bruins, Fitzgerald led the team to a National Championship, the first NCAA Division I coach to win a title in his first year with a program. He was also just the third coach to win NCAA titles in Divisions I and II. For his efforts, he was named the NSCAA/adidas National Coach of the Year.

In 2004, Fitzgerald left UCLA to rejoin the University of Tampa where he began the season 6-9-1. Tom's main motivation for moving back to Tampa was to be closer to his family, sons Shane & Jesse and two grandsons Caelan Shane Fitzgerald and Skyelar Thom Fitzgerald. Skyelar's middle name is a tribute to his grandfather who died five months prior to his birth. Though Tom never met Skyelar he knew Shane's wife Natalie was pregnant with their second child and was excited to add another member to his close knit family.

On December 4, Fitzgerald was driving his motorcycle to scout players at a youth soccer festival in Bradenton, Florida when he was struck by an SUV. Fitzgerald initially seemed to be all right, calling his wife Debi after the accident. He was taken to Tampa General Hospital, but hemorrhaging occurred and Fitzgerald died during surgery to repair his torn Aorta.

A memorial stone for Fitzgerald was unveiled at Columbus Crew Stadium on April 2, 2005.

External links

* [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=318572&cc=5901 ESPNSoccernet.com: Former Crew coach Fitzgerald dies]
* [http://uclabruins.collegesports.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/fitzgerald_tom00.html Fitzgerald's biography at UCLA]