F.C. PORTLAND'S JOYCE NAMED WESTERN REGION GIRLS COACH OF THE YEAR; BECOMES ONLY AREA YOUTH SOCCER COACH TO EVER WIN USYSA AWARD

Following Academy's Six Summer Camps, Joyce's Son to Take Over as Girls' U12 Head Coach

PORTLAND, Ore. -- April 26, 2004 -- F.C. Portland Academy -- Portland's premier youth soccer club -- today announced that girls' under-12 (U12) team head coach Mike Joyce has been named as Region IV girls' coach of the year by the United States Youth Soccer Association (USYSA). According to USYSA, it's the first time a Portland-area coach has ever received the honor.

With nearly 30 years of youth soccer experience, Joyce beat out thousands of coaches from 13 Western states, among them: California, Colorado and Washington. Joyce's win is the latest major accomplishment for F.C. Portland in the last two years, a stellar run that includes seven state championships and one national title (2003 U17 girls' squad).

Starting in June, Joyce will be a part of the coaching team involved in leading F.C. Portland's inaugural summer camp series, geared for both boys and girls in second through ninth grades. Following that in the fall, Joyce's son Kurtis will take over for his dad as the girls' U12 head coach, with Mike then becoming the team's assistant coach. In a coincidental turnabout of events, it was 28 years ago that a then five-year-old Kurtis helped his own dad get his first head coaching job, coming home from school with an urgent request: his first-grade soccer squad needed parental supervision.

More Mike Joyce
This is the first major recognition of Joyce's accomplishments, which include helping lead Portland Metro, the club he founded in 1989, to nine state championships in 11 years. In 2001, he merged Portland Metro -- the state's only all-girls soccer club -- with F.C. Portland Academy at the behest of its founder, Clive Charles. Joyce worked directly with the legendary coach in the development of the organization's girls division, until Charles' passing in 2003. According to Joyce, approximately 90 percent of all players from his teams have gone on to play at the collegiate level.

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