Inductees were chosen on the basis of having made a significant contribution toward the development and advancement of adult amateur soccer at the national or regional level. The Class of 2010, chosen by the USASA Hall of Fame Committee, includes: Eric Beck, Frank Giancroce, James D. Hamilton, F Patrick Healy (posthumous), Brooks McCormick, Abner Rogers and Jerry Zanelli.

Hall of Fame Committee Chairman Bruno Trapikas, commenting on this year’s selections, said “USASA is deeply appreciative for the contributions made by this year’s inductees to the growth of the game and to the growth of the organization. The seven selected individuals showcase the broad spectrum of efforts which go into building the game, as well as indicating the geographical scope of the organization, as they are dispersed from coast-to-coast-to-coast.”

Brief summaries of the newest USASA Hall of Fame Inductees appear below. USASA will take a more in-depth look in coming months, featuring detailed bios on two inductees at a time in the upcoming months. Stay tuned!

Eric Beck (Referee) of Gresham, Oregon, has been a USSF Referee since 1978. He has refereed over 10,000 amateur games (indoor & outdoor). Eric built a referee base from 125 registered referees to 1,700 in Oregon. He later resigned to accept the position as United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) Region IV Coordinator. He is currently a USSF National Referee Emeritus.

 

Frank Giancroce (Referee) of Cochranville, Pennsylvania came to the United States in 1965. He played High School and Amateur Soccer until 1971 and then became a licensed referee. By 1988, Giancroce was appointed to be the State Referee Administrator of Eastern Pennsylvania, a position that he still holds, making him one of the longest serving State Referee Administrator in United States. From 1993 to 1995, and again since 2009, Frank has served on the US Soccer Referee Committee. Frank has worked at all levels of soccer – youth, adult, amateur, and professional.

 

James D. Hamilton (Administrator) of Vancouver, Washington has been playing soccer in his hometown since the early 80’s in the same league he helped form, the Columbia Adult Soccer Association. Jim has held many Administrative positions in soccer, including Chairman of the US Soccer Foundation from 1994-2003. Currently he is on the US Soccer Board of Directors and holds an At-Large position with US Adult Soccer.

 

F Patrick Healy (posthumous-Administrator) of Baltimore, Maryland played the game in his youth & adult years, including in the prestigious American Soccer League. He went on to become coach & administrator in both youth and amateur ranks. Patrick served on the board of the Maryland Major Soccer League, Maryland’s oldest premier league. In 1983 he became the Region I Director for US Adult Soccer, known then as the United States Senior Soccer Division.

 

Brooks McCormick (Administrator) of Largo, Florida started his soccer career as a player in the Florida Suncoast Soccer League where he eventually took over as President. During his time as League President he helped grow the league in to the largest league in Florida. Eventually Brooks got involved at the State level and moved on as President of Florida for 6 years. Moving up the ranks, he eventually became the Region III Deputy Director then the Director. In 2006 he ran for Chairman of USASA and held that position for 4 years. Brooks also served on the Board of Directors for US Soccer and headed up the US Soccer Referee Committee.

Abner Rogers (Coach) of Laguna Hills, California began his coaching career in Lillishall England in 1984 where he carried the Football Association Full Badge. He eventually moved to the states, settled in California and started coaching youth soccer. His teams won numerous titles including guiding his Girls U15 Valley United Wildthings to a 3rd place finish at Nationals. In 1989 he began coaching the California Soccer Association-South State Women’s Team (USASA-ODP). Abner earned several regional championships and was eventually named the USASA Women’s National Team Coach. 

Jerry Zanelli (Coach) of Sacramento, California moved to the area in 1980 and made the decision to get out of coaching until he went to the high school down the street to watch a game. During a conversation he was told there weren’t any girls born in 1971 that were good enough to play soccer… the challenge was on. From there he started coaching the River City Rowdies who went on to win the CYSA U19 Championship. Currently Jerry is the owner and operator of the California Storm, a Women’s team he began over 20 years ago. He was also the Founder of the Women’s Premier Soccer League which started as a California based league then grew to become a premier National League with over 55 teams, as well as being Founder of the National Premier (Men’s) Soccer League. Teams coached by Zanelli won the 1993 and 1994 National Amateur Cup, and were runners-up in the USASA Men’s Open Cup competition in 1995 and 1986.

 

With the addition of the 2010 class, the U.S. Adult Soccer Hall of Fame will now boast 101 members. Previous inductees include: Milton Aimi, Mario Alarcon, Brian Alexander, Adolph Bachmeier, Chanka (Ken) Baldeosingh, Alastair Bell, Marypat Bell, John Best, Graham Biles, Bob Black, John Bocwinski, Gianfranco Borroni, Bill Bosgraaf, Timothy W. Busch, James Carson, Clive Charles, Ken Conselyea, Wilfred Cummings, Brian K. Darling, Livio D’Arpino, Ian William Davey, Mario De Paola, George Donnelly, Antonio Doria, Tony Dubrowski, Paul Dueker, Gene Edwards, Mike Edwards, John Ellinger, Tony Falcone, George Fishwick, Tom Fitzgerald, Jack Flamhaft, Stephen Flamhaft, Werner Fricker, Werner Fricker Jr., Bob Gansler, Rudy Getzinger, Richard Giebner, Steve Gogas, Joe Gryzik,  Sunil Gulati, Dr. John P. Gyekenyesi, Julie Ilacqua, Mike Kabanica, Alfred Kleinatis, Frank Kracher, Kurt Lamm, Marge Madriago, Mike Maloney, Fritz Marth, Brian McBride, Robert L. McGee, Gerhard Mengel, Sviatoslav “Stan” Mirza, John Motta, Ed Murphy, Edward N. Nunez, Kevin Payne, Peter J. Peel, Foster Perry, Blaz Pesorda, Peter Pinori, Everett Polley, Peggy Polley, Salvatore Rapaglia, Gordon Redshaw, J. Eugene Ringsdorf, Charles Robinson, Carlos Rodriguez, Joseph L. Rodriguez, Julius Roth, Howard Rubenstein, Michael Ryan, Harry Saunders, Roger Schott, Janet Slauson, Patrick Smith, Anna Steffen, Charlie Stillitano Sr., June Stroup, Jack Sullivan, Bruno Trapikas, Debra Trapikas, Joseph Triner, Consalvo Turchi, Pat Varsallona, Wallace Watson, Richard Williams, Michael Wuertz, Gus Xikis, John Zangrilli, Nikola Zlatar and Joseph Zyzda.

Congratulations from USASA!

 

 

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