2005-06 MISL Coach of the Year - Omid Namazi
ST. LOUIS STEAMERS HEAD COACH HONORED
FOLLOWING 23-7 REGULAR SEASON
WESTPORT, Conn. (Tuesday, May 23, 2006) – The Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) announced Tuesday afternoon that St. Louis Steamers head coach Omid Namazi has been named the 2005-06 MISL Coach of the Year. In his first season in St. Louis, Namazi directed a club that had posted a .500 winning percentage the season before, to one that won the 2005-06 MISL Regular Season Championship with a .767 winning percentage, and a 23-7 record. Namazi gains his second consecutive MISL Coach of the Year distinction. Following the 2004-05 MISL season the former All-Star and League Defender of the Year earned his first MISL Coach of the Year honor with the Cleveland Force.
This year, the 40-year-old head coach received better than 80 percent of the first-place votes, and appeared on more than 97 percent of the ballots in the season’s awards voting. The MISL’s formal voting process that polls members of the media, as well as MISL coaches and team personnel asks voters to cast votes for first-place (worth five points), second-place (three points), and third-place (one point) for MISL Coach of the Year.
Namazi, who has now led teams to two consecutive MISL Championship Series Finals appearances, also won a MISL Championship as a defender/head coach of the Philadelphia KiXX following the 2001-02 MISL season. He’s coached in the League during at least a portion of each of the past eight regular seasons.
He accepted the position with the Steamers on Sept. 21, 2005. Several months ago that contract was extended by Steamers investor/operator Michael Hetelson.
“First off, this award is a credit to all of the players on the team,” Namazi said. “There have not been a lot of seasons like the one we had, or team’s that have been able to copy that success. Since I arrived here, it’s been about the players.”
The Steamers averaged 6.6 goals per game during the MISL regular season, and allowed just 4.6 goals per outing. Both figures led the MISL. In addition, the Steamers finished the regular season with a 14-1 record at home at Savvis Center.
In addition, 19 times during the season one of Namazi’s players was named MISL Player of the Week, in addition to four receiving the MISL Player of the Month recognition. On Monday five Steamers were selected All-MISL. On Tuesday, in addition to Namazi’s recognition, Brett Phillips was named the MISL Goalkeeper of the Year.
“I came here and I put in a system,” Namazi said. “You have to have players that believe in your system, and to do that I need players that believe in me. Players see the passion I put out there, the system I put out there, and they start believing. It is about believing and respect. We have a great team and a great group of guys in St. Louis.”
About The MISL
The Major Indoor Soccer League is a single-entity organization with a coast-to-coast presence comprised of six teams located across the United States, and features the finest indoor soccer players representing 31 countries around the world. In February of 2004, the League announced an expansion team in Stockton, CA, that began play in 2005-06 as the California Cougars. In May of 2004, the League announced plans for an expansion team in Newark, NJ, that will begin play in 2007-08. In April of 2005, the League also approved an MISL expansion team for Detroit that will begin play as the Detroit Ignition in 2006-07. On Sunday, April 30, 2006, the MISL announced on ESPN2 that MISL Orlando had been approved to begin competition with the 2007-08 season. The 2006 MISL All-Star Game was played before a capacity crowd on February 11, 2006 at the U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee. The 2006 MISL Championship Series began in Chicago on Saturday, April 15, 2006, and concluded live on ESPN2 and before a crowd of 16,061 at Savvis Center in St. Louis on Sunday, April 30, 2006, with the Baltimore Blast winning their third MISL Championship Series in four seasons. For more information on the MISL, visit the League’s official website www.MISL.net.