The Tennessee State Soccer Association (TSSA) hosted its 2024 TSSA Awards Dinner this past weekend, where players, teams, coaches, referees and volunteers were recognized for outstanding performances and contributions to youth soccer in the state. The event was held at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.
“We want to congratulate all of our award winners once again, and we thank them for everything they do to make our game great,” said Hans Hobson, CEO of the Tennessee State Soccer Association. “We thoroughly enjoyed our new location here at MTSU in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The event was probably our best one yet.”
Please see below for a full list of the award winners and honorees who were acknowledged at the 2024 TSSA Awards Dinner.
- TOA Competitive Coach of the Year (Male) – Cesar Salinas (Stones River Futbol Club); Tyler Robertson (TN Premier Soccer Academy)
- TOA Competitive Coach of the Year (Female) – Jenger Parrish (Tennessee Soccer Club)
- Pinnacle Recreation Coach of the Year – Jeremy Lansing (Lexington Soccer League)
- Soccer Village Volunteer of the Year – Rufus Woodard (Columbia Soccer Association)
- Publix Administrator of the Year – Samantha Thomas (Wilson United Soccer Club)
- TOPSoccer Buddy of the Year – Peyton Evans (Tennessee United Soccer Club)
- TOPSoccer Coach of the Year – Elizabeth Warlick (All In FC TN)
- Young Male Referee of the Year – Alex Linville
- Young Female Referee of the Year – Jessica Hoeft
- Tennessee State Referee Program (TSRP) Trail Blazer Award – Bill “Pops” Nelson
A special guest speaker at the 2024 TSSA Awards Dinner was former international referee Howard Webb. The England native officiated primarily in the Premier League from 2003 to 2014, and he also served as a FIFA Referee from 2005 to 2014. In 2010, he became the first person to referee both the finals of the UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup in the same year. After retiring from officiating in 2014, Webb stepped into the position of Technical Director for the Professional Game Match Officials Board. He later stepped into the role of General Manager for the Professional Referees Organization (PRO) before most recently becoming the first-ever Chief Refereeing Officer of England’s Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL).
