New Jersey Youth Soccer recently hosted its 32nd Annual NJYS Awards Dinner Presented by RWJBarnabas Health, where many players, coaches and members of the soccer community were celebrated at the Pines Manor in Edison, N.J. One of the honorees that night was Alfredo Aguiar, who was selected as the 2019 NJYS Bob McNulty Coach of the Year.
“Winning this prestigious award means a lot to me,” said Aguiar. “Over the years, this award has been given to some very good coaches, and I am honored to now be included among that group. I originally became a coach when my daughter started playing, and I quickly developed a love for teaching the game. Honestly, it is a bit surprising to see how far things have come.”
Coach Alfredo Aguiar has been a resident of Union Township for nearly 20 years, coaching both recreation and travel soccer for more than 15 of them. The range of players that he coaches are from just four or five years old all the way up to high school seniors. Something that he strives to instill into each player he comes across is sportsmanship, a trait that he knows every athlete will take beyond sports and into their personal and professional lives.
“Coach Alfredo takes an average player and makes them great, and a great player and makes them humble,” said Hailey Goncalves, who played for Aguiar. “At the end of the game, whether the result is win or lose, he teaches us the lesson. Victory is sweet, but skill and integrity is forever.”
Aguiar is known as an enthusiastic coach who also places a big emphasis on the development of self-confidence. Overall, his coaching philosophy is based upon improving skills while still allowing everyone to have fun playing the game.
