OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University assistant soccer coach Billy Martin has been named the Oklahoma Soccer Association state boys competitive youth coach of the year.
Martin has been coaching youth soccer since 1990 and is in his second year with the Oklahoma Football Club ‘92. Martin will be given his award Jan. 23, 2010 at the Sheraton Hotel, 1 N. Broadway Avenue in Oklahoma City.
“Whenever you’re dealing with youth, you like to be recognized for doing a good job,” said Martin. “Working with kids is not always about wins and losses, it’s about developing kids into better players.”
Martin led the OFC ‘92 to the Oklahoma Premier League championship in 2008. That team also won the state championship, finished runner-up in the Southwest Premier League and reached the quarterfinals of the regional tournament.
“This is something that has been long overdue,” said OCU head coach Brian Harvey, who has the most men’s and women’s wins of any NAIA soccer coach. “Billy has contributed quite a lot to youth soccer, and he has a wealth of knowledge about the game. Not only is it a great honor for Billy, it’s great for OCU.”
Martin has been an assistant under Harvey for 15 seasons at OCU.
As Harvey’s assistant, Martin has been a part of seven men’s and eight women’s Sooner Athletic Conference championship teams. OCU finished as NAIA women’s runner-up in 2001 and reached the NAIA men’s semifinals in 2008.
A native of Grapevine, Texas, Martin played for OCU from 1989-91. Martin aided OCU to two conference and District Nine championships. He also played for Harvey’s Oklahoma Heat teams in the U.S. Interregional Soccer League from 1993-96. In 1991, Martin earned a bachelor’s degree in business from OCU.
Martin and his wife Alana have a son, Blake.