SJ Sports: Shawnee Coach Honored

Brian Gibney has always been one of South Jersey’s top soccer coaches. Now, the rest of the country knows what area fans have realized for nearly three decades.

The Shawnee boys’ soccer coach picked up his 500th career victory last fall along with another sectional championship for the Renegades. Shawnee also won its second consecutive South Jersey Soccer Coaches Tournament title and was the consensus No. 1 team in South Jersey for a second consecutive year.

Just when Gibney thought it couldn’t get any better, he was given an award that is reserved for the top high school coaches across the country. During the winter, Gibney was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division I High School Boys’ Soccer Coach of the Year.

Gibney received the award in Kansas City during the NSCAA Convention.

“It was quite a surprise,” said Gibney. “I didn’t think they would have somebody travel such a great distance if they hadn’t been told ahead of time if they had won or not. I always thought that people who had won it were sworn to secrecy. Now, I know that the winners really don’t know until they win it.”

Gibney said the award is a testament to the Shawnee program and the caliber of competition in South Jersey.

“I was honored to receive the award,” Gibney said. “I was also honored for our school and for South Jersey soccer.”

Shawnee went 25-1-1 this past season, losing only to Kearny in the state Group 4 final. In 29 seasons, Gibney has a career record of 509-101-42 and has guided the Renegades to five state Group 4 titles.

Gibney was selected over 80 other coaches as the Sectional Coach of the Year and was then put in a pool with four others from the Garden State. He was then picked to represent New Jersey in a regional pool that featured coaches from seven other states. When Gibney was selected as the Regional Coach of the Year, he was one of eight candidates for the national honor.

Gibney was quick to credit the people around him for making it possible for him to receive the award.

“I should be thanking our school and thanking South Jersey,” said Gibney, who became Shawnee’s head coach in 1975. “It makes me proud to represent the area as well as Shawnee.”

To receive the national honor during a season that saw Shawnee win its 10th South Jersey championship made the moment even sweeter for Gibney.

“The only thing that really escaped us was a state championship,” Gibney said. “We were high in the national poll at the end of the year before that loss. But my award comes from a combination of many years of coaching so many great players.”

The National Coach of the Year shows no signs of slowing down. Gibney will likely continue to pace the Shawnee sidelines for many more seasons.

The biggest motivation for Gibney is to see his players develop both as soccer players and as young men.

“That is the ingredient that keeps you in it,” Gibney said. “That’s what teaching is all about. To me, coaching at the highest form is teaching. People don’t always digest coaching for what it is. You want to see the progress of the kids in a safe environment. Players and coaches together will pave that road. That’s what coaching is all about.”

Content provided by South Jersey Sports Club.

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Author: SJ Sports Club-Ed Benkin