DURHAM, N.C.-Former Duke University men's soccer standout Jay Heaps was named the head coach of Major League Soccer's New England Revolution, as announced by the club today, November 15. Heaps captured the 1998 Missouri Athletic Club Award as the national player of the year.
Heaps, 35, will assume his duties immediately and will be presented in a formal press conference at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at Gillette Stadium, which will be streamed live on revolutionsoccer.net. Further information about the press conference will follow via email to media.
"I am thrilled to accept this position," Heaps said. "Throughout my playing career and with my involvement with the team after I retired, I've made no secret about my commitment to the Revolution, and I'm honored to be entrusted with this responsibility as head coach. I'd like to thank the Kraft family, Brian Bilello and Mike Burns for believing in me, and in the vision I have for the club as we move ahead. We have a strong base to build on, but we also have a lot of work to do as we look ahead to 2012."
Heaps is one of the most decorated players to come through Duke's soccer program. He is one of two players to earn All-ACC first team honors and was the ACC Freshman of the Year in 1995. As a freshman, Heaps tallied 15 goals, which sit eighth in Duke single season history, while his 39 points that season are seventh. Heaps garnered NSCAA All-America first team recognition his senior season and was a third-team honoree in 1997.
He accrued 45 goals and 37 assists for 127 points over the course of his four seasons. Heaps currently ranks third at Duke in career points and fourth in career goals and assists. A four-time All-South Region honoree, Heaps earned a spot on the ACC All-Tournament team all four years and guided Duke to a 61-23-1 record from 1995 to 1998. Behind Heaps' 15 goals and 39 points in 1995, Duke advanced to the NCAA College Cup, falling to Wisconsin in the title game.
Heaps also played three-and-a-half years of basketball under legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke before leaving midway through his senior year to pursue his professional soccer career. He was named one of Duke's "Top 10 Devils of the Decade" by the Duke Chronicle.
After graduating from Duke, Heaps embarked on an impressive 11-year career in Major League Soccer. He entered the league in 1999 with the Miami Fusion and was named the MLS Rookie of the Year. Heaps returned to the Revs, his hometown club team, in June of 2001. During the next nine seasons in New England, he cemented his legacy as not only a fan favorite, but also a driving leader on the field and in the locker room during the team's run of four MLS Cup appearances (2002, 2005-07). He is one of three Revs players to start all four of the Revolution's MLS Cup appearances and he was also a member of the Revolution squads that won the 2007 U.S. Open Cup and the 2008 SuperLiga trophies.
When he closed the book on his playing career in 2009, Heaps left the Revolution as the club's all-time leader in games played (243), starts (238) and minutes played (21,619) and ranked fifth on the Revs' career assist chart (26) while scoring nine goals with the Revs. Heaps also holds the distinction of being the longest-tenured Revolution player, ever.
An 11-year Major League Soccer veteran and club legend, Heaps anchored the Revolution's defense from 2001 until his retirement at the close of the 2009 season. After his retirement, Heaps remained close to the club as an ambassador and color analyst on both its television and radio broadcasts, while working in the investment banking industry.
"As we began the search for our new coach, we had a strong idea about the qualities we were looking for in our next head coach," Revolution President Brian Bilello said. "As we went through a comprehensive search and spoke with candidates with a variety of backgrounds and experiences, Jay stood out with his vision for the team, his desire to move the club into the future and for his positive attitude about impacting change. Coupled with everything we already knew about him personally and his competitive traits we've always admired and respected, he emerged as our clear favorite and number one choice as our next head coach."
"Every day, Jay set a positive example when he was one of our players: he gave everything he had on the field, no matter if it was a game or a training session, and then was a leader in the locker room and in the community," Revolution General Manager Michael Burns said. "We believe Jay is the right person to lead us as our head coach and we're very excited to get him in and involved. We have a lot of work to do to prepare for 2012."
At the league level, Heaps was ranked eighth all-time in MLS in games played (314), fourth in starts (299) and third in minutes played (27,363) at the time of his retirement. He closed his playing career with 17 goals and 34 assists overall.
Heaps is also a former member of the U.S. Under-17 and Under-20 National Teams.
Heaps and his wife, Danielle, live southwest of Boston and have three children: John F. "Jack" Heaps IV (6), Olivia (4) and Jude (6 mos.). Heaps is a member of the Board of Directors of AmericaSCORES New England, and was the Revs' representative to the MLS Players Union when he was a player. In 2011, he was inducted into the New England Soccer Hall of Fame.
