D.C. United and the Virginia Youth Soccer Association (VYSA) will honor eight area soccer luminaries on Saturday, May 14 prior to United’s game against the Colorado Rapids. The awardees, inducted into the Virginia-DC Soccer Hall of Fame, come from the Player, Meritorious, and Veteran categories. The Soccer Hall, co-sponsored by VYSA and the Metropolitan DC/VA Soccer Association (MDCVSA), annually recognizes leading soccer personalities in the Virginia-DC area. There are now 74 Hall inductees.
Established in 2001, the Soccer Hall reflects the dramatic growth of soccer in the Virginia-DC metropolitan area with over 150,000 youngsters now in organized leagues in DC, and Virginia, along with thousands of adults in local amateur leagues.
Induction into the Virginia-DC Soccer Hall of Fame is the highest award soccer bestows on players, coaches, officials, administrators, and the media in the Virginia-DC area.
Commenting on the Hall of Fame’s most recent inductees, Soccer Hall Chair Len Oliver said, “The soccer personalities inducted into our Hall of Fame helped to build soccer in our area and have earned our ever-lasting gratitude. The players, coaches, administrators, and referees in our Hall are role models who laid the foundation for our modern game and soccer’s phenomenal growth in the Virginia-DC area. We owe them an enormous debt.”
2011 Inductees
Jill Ellis – Player
Jill played with the Braddock Road Bluebelles, which won the first ever U19 US Youth Soccer National Championship. An All-American selection at the College of William and Mary, as head coach, Jill guided UCLA to eight College Cup appearances and five Pac10 Conference championships, and was awarded the National Coach of the Year award in 2002. She coached the U20 and U21 Women’s National Teams, and is currently the Director of Development for US Soccer, overseeing the Youth National Team program and the US Youth Scouting Network.
Julie Shackford – Player
Julie Cunningham Shackford, a three-time All-American at the College of William and Mary. As head coach at Carnegie Mellon University for four seasons, she initiated the women’s soccer program. For the last 16 years Julie has been head women’s soccer coach at Princeton, earning seven NCAA Tournament bids, making her the winningest coach in the school’s history. Named National Coach of the Year in 2004, Julie has coached the U20 and U21 National Teams.
Rob Ukrop – Player
At Davidson College, Rob was the nation’s leading scorer in 1992 and named the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America Player of the Year. A finalist for the Hermann Award in 1993, he played with the U23 National Team. Professionally, Rob played in the NPSL, APSL, MLS, and the USL. He spent most of his career with the Richmond Kickers and was part of the 1995 USL League Championship team. In 1996 he scored the first two goals in New England Revolution franchise history. He continues to be involved with the Richmond Kickers as a coach and a member of the Board of Directors.
Thomas Rongen – Meritorious Service
Thomas played for the Dutch club Ajax and with the Dutch Olympic Team before moving to the United States in 1979 when he joined the LA Aztecs of the NASL. He played for the Washington Diplomats and was a player, player-coach, and coach with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. He went on to become the winningest coach in MLS history with Tampa Bay Mutiny, New England Revolution, and D.C. United. Named Coach of the Year in 1996 while with Tampa Bay, je won his first MLS crown with D.C. United in 1999. Thomas currently coaches the U20 Men’s National Team, and led the team to the U20 World Cup in 2007 and 2009.
Jeff Skigen- Meritorious Service
Jeff, a long-time, dedicated member of the soccer community, served in many different capacities—as youth coach, President of the National Capital Soccer League for twelve years, and member of the VYSA Board. He has been a certified referee for over 24 years. Jeff’s knowledge and experience greatly strengthened soccer in northern Virginia.
Keith Tabatznik – Meritorious Service
Keith played at American University, and was a repeated all-star in the Capitol Soccer League. He served as Georgetown University’s head coach for 22 years, finishing with 220 wins, making him Georgetown’s all-time winningest coach. Twice named Big East Coach of the Year, Keith was named the USASA National Coach of the Year. He served three years as Head Coach for the US National Amateur Team (US “B” Team), and currently works with Comcast Sports Net for D.C. United games, does color commentary for the Fox Soccer Channel.
Dennis Viollet – Veteran
In the mid-1950s, Dennis was a forward with Manchester United, scoring 179 goals in 294 matches and playing a big part in the winning of League Championships in1956 and 1957. He coached the Washington Diplomats of the NASL for several years, and then moved to the New England Tea Men. He then joined the Richmond Kickers, who in 1995 won the USISL Premier League title and the US Open Cup championship. Dennis finished his coaching career with the A-League Jacksonville Cyclones.
Bill Willis - Veteran
Bill became involved with youth soccer when his sons joined the DC Stoddert Soccer League, where he served as coach and commissioner. While Chairman of the Board of Directors of DCSSL, starting in 1994, the club doubled its membership. Bill instituted partnerships with other soccer organizations, including Georgetown University Men’s Soccer, created the Cherry Blossom Festival Soccer Tournament, and aided in the development of inner city soccer programs, especially DC Scores. He involved with the upgrade of existing inner city soccer fields and the creation of new fields in the city, and served as VYSA’s Director of Field Development.
All prior inductees have been invited to be present at the Saturday game, and will be recognized on the field prior to the game, along with the current inductees.
