The spring season is a more relaxed time for college soccer teams, when the games don't count in the standings or national rankings. But when Big East rivals Rutgers and St. John's meet Saturday night, it will be much more than another spring game.
They'll play in the first annual Doug Hamilton Memorial Soccer Classic at Raritan High School, where Hamilton went to school in his hometown of Hazlet, N.J. On March 9, 2006, Hamilton died of heart complications on a flight home from Costa Rica. The Los Angeles Galaxy president and general manager was just 43.
"While he's associated mainly with the Galaxy, Doug Hamilton did more for the league and the sport than many people will ever know," said Alexi Lalas, who holds Hamilton's position with the Galaxy. "Those players who are playing in the game, be it on Rutgers or St. John's, whether they realize it or not, they owe a tremendous amount to Doug Hamilton for what he has done to create a strong and vibrant soccer culture in America."
The match will benefit Hamilton's 6-year-old son Aedan and the Hazlet Youth Soccer Association. The event includes a youth soccer clinic for children 14 and under on the athletic fields at Raritan H.S. at 4 p.m. ET and will feature instruction from the coaches and players from Rutgers, St. John's and Raritan High. Mini-youth matches featuring teams from HYSA will start at 5:30 p.m. prior to the Rutgers-St. John's match at 7 p.m.
"An event like this that celebrates not only a great person but someone who has meant so much to our sport and [the game takes place] in a state I know he held near and dear to him, it's a wonderful event for a wonderful person," Lalas said.
Hamilton might have been known as a soccer executive, first for the Miami Fusion and then building the Galaxy into an MLS powerhouse. But he was so much more, said Rutgers coach Bob Reasso.
"He was just a great guy," said Reasso, who first knew Hamilton when he played for Raritan High, his alma mater. "I think people see him as the quintessential professional and the administrator, businessman, but he's soccer through and through."
Hamilton was a stellar player at Raritan High and went on to play for Mike Berticelli at UNC-Greensboro, winning three Division III national championships. It was actually Hamilton who called Reasso to tell him that Berticelli died of a heart attack in January, 2000 at the age of 48.
"It's hopefully going to be a wonderful event for a great man and a dear friend to so many people in the game," Reasso said.
One of those friends is St. John's coach Dave Masur, who immediately committed to playing in the game when Reasso, his former college coach, called him. Reasso said other college coaches called, like Ray Reid at UConn, Manny Schellscheidt of Seton Hall, Maryland's Sasho Cirovski, Harvard's John Kerr and Rob McCourt of Monmouth.
Lalas was a friend, too. He played for Hamilton's Galaxy and then called on him weekly for advice when he became the president and general manager of the San Jose Earthquakes.
"I looked to him for guidance and leadership and he was always there to help me through difficult situations because I was learning as I went along," Lalas said. "He always treated me as an equal in the business sense and that always meant a tremendous amount to me."
After a stellar collegiate career, Hamilton coached at Greensboro College for three years, leading the team to the Division III title game in 1989. He was inducted into the Greensboro College Hall of Fame last Saturday. Hamilton was then an assistant coach at Duke University and the Blue Devils reached the College Cup semifinals in 1992.
From there Hamilton worked for adidas before joining the Fusion, where attendance was up 49 percent in the two years he was the executive vice president there. In his five years in Los Angeles, the Galaxy never missed the playoffs and won a pair of MLS Cup titles. Hamilton was named the MLS Executive of the Year three times and now the award is in his name.
"There's not a day that goes by here at the Galaxy that I don't see his positive influence on this organization," Lalas said. "I have some very big shoes to fill and, in all honesty, will never be able to fill them."
Those who met Hamilton will never forget him. Now the challenge is to pass Hamilton's legacy on to those who weren't fortunate enough to meet him. And that starts with Saturday night's game.
"It was shocking and devastating," Reasso said of Hamilton's death. "He leaves behind a son and a wife, a sister, a brother and countless friends. He had so much more to give to the game."
And now its time for soccer to give back, in Hamilton's name.
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
