BOSTON BREAKERS NAME DUSHAWNE SIMPSON AS ASSISTANT COACH
HANOVER, Mass. (Jan. 29, 2015) – The Boston Breakers announced today the hiring of assistant coach Dushawne Simpson. Simpson has coached a number of women’s soccer teams for more than 20 years. He has spent the past 13 years with the Women’s Premier Soccer League team Aztec Soccer, the former reserve club of the Breakers. Simpson, known to many as “Doc”, served in a number of roles at Aztec, including head coach since 2006. In 2009, Simpson led the Aztec U-23s to the WPSL National Championship game.
"“I am delighted to announce Dushawne as a member of the Breakers pro team coaching staff,” Boston Breakers general manager Lee Billiard said. “I have known Doc for a long time, and he is very well-respected, has great knowledge and passion for the game, and there’s a very good demeanor about him. The fact that he knows about our program and has worked with us closely in previous years on top of his coaching credentials is a bonus. Tom and Doc will complement each other very well, and the players will benefit from having such quality coaching, instruction, and leadership”"
Skyscraper Blues
Simpson most recently won the 2014 New England Preparatory School Council championship as head coach of the esteemed Pingree School in South Hamilton, Mass.
"“I’m very excited for this opportunity to work in the top women’s league in the world,” Simpson said. “I want to thank Lee Billiard and Tom Durkin for this opportunity, and I hope to bring value to the organization.”"
A little background on Simpson:
A native of Connecticut, Simpson played his youth soccer at Avon Old Farms School and then moved onto Avon High School. At Avon High School, Simpson helped lead his team to a #2 national high school soccer ranking in 1990 and was selected to the 1990 CT All-State team in Soccer as well as basketball and track
Simpson continued at the collegiate level, playing at Division II powerhouse Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) as a freshman and then moving on to Salem State College. Dushawne was an all-conference performer at Salem State College and as a freshman he was all-conference and freshman of the Year for SCSU when he led the league in scoring. Simpson played professionally in the United Soccer Leagues with Boston Bulldogs, Connecticut Wolves, and New Hampshire Phantoms and semi-professionally for the Lowell Blues of the Lusa American Soccer Association, before moving on to coaching.
My take:
Solid hire for the Breakers. “Doc” gives the team a local connection, having played and coached in New England. Also his experience with some of the Breakers players from their reserve days gives him instant credibility. I really think both his experience as his calm nature will really be an asset to Boston. As I said I think his connections throughout New England could give the team an advantage in bringing in some local talent that the other NWSL clubs may not know as much about.
My thanks to Ryan Wood of the Boston Breakers for this release.
all quotes courtesy of the Boston Breakers
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