The popularity of this summer's FIFA World Cup in Brazil brought to light Americans' ever-growing love affair with soccer. Indeed, Bud Lewis' fingerprints are on the United States' burgeoning embrace of the world's most popular sport.
Wilmington College gave Lewis an enthusiastic send-off Saturday (Aug. 23) as he embarks upon his 40th season at the helm of the men's soccer team. Many of the program's alumni, parents and friends lauded the coach at a dinner held in his honor following the annual alumni game.
Lewis is a rare breed among the collegiate ranks. Fewer than five soccer coaches in the entire NCAA have exhibited that degree of loyalty and entrepreneurship with same program for 40 or more years.
Andy Brinkman served as an assistant coach at WC from 2000 to 2005 and currently is director of goalkeeping with Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew. He served as master of ceremonies.
Brinkman compared Lewis' wide-ranging impact on American soccer with science's Butterfly Effect, which contends that a butterfly in western Africa can change the flow of air such that it affects weather patterns across the Atlantic and feasibly could result in a hurricane in the Caribbean and southeastern United States.
"There are a lot of people that Bud's impacted. We can't imagine how much he's taught us and how his impact has rippled across this country's soccer landscape," Brinkman said. "His former players have passed on what's happened here that's so special."
Besides his 40 years at Wilmington College, thousands of youth and teens attended his Midwest Soccer Camps from the late 1970s into the mid-2000s. Also, Lewis has held key positions with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, most notably his long-time tenure as chair of the All-American Selection Committee.
"The Butterfly Effect is a real part of Bud's impact on soccer and the growth of the beautiful game we all love," he added. "What Bud has done on a grassroots level is manifested now in the growth of youth soccer, soccer academies and collegiate soccer across the country— and you can see Bud's butterfly wings reaching this summer's World Cup."
Lewis enters the 2014 season with 479 wins, 239 losses and 49 ties. His teams played in five NAIA National Tournaments highlighted by a semifinals appearance in 1986, as well as five NCAA National Tournaments, including advancing to the Sweet 16 round in 1996, 2000 and 2004. The Quakers won Association of Mideast Conference championships from 1991 through 1995 and Heartland Conference titles in 1998 and '99. Since WC joined the Ohio Athletic Conference in 2000, his teams captured championships in 2000 and 2004 and have competed in eight OAC Tournaments.
The NSCAA presented Lewis the prestigious Bill Jeffries Award for career achievement following the 2004 season.
Tributes from former players ranged from the humorous to the sublime, as many recalled lighter moments while others spoke of Lewis' affect upon their personal growth.
Former assistant coach Brian Page (2000 and '01) stressed how Lewis' impact transcends the game.
"Bud's life doesn't revolve around soccer; it revolves around people," he said. "If my son could play collegiate soccer, I'd like it to be with Bud."
Indeed, Brinkman said, "Bud is like a dad, brother, best friend and mentor."
Several testimonials from former players were read, including one from Armin Fejzic, class of 2011, who lives in Sweden.
"In the heat of the game and the passion within, through all the adversities and joyful moments on the soccer field, you taught us young men something greater than soccer," Fejzic said. "You taught us how to be men."
Another Swede, Erik Hammar '14, said, "I am proud of being a Bud Lewis alumni and I will always remember you as not only a great soccer coach but also as a great friend and mentor."
Aaron DeNu '01, Washington D.C., added, "I learned so much from you over the years and I bring all those lessons with me everywhere I go. I am so thankful for the amazing opportunity to play soccer at Wilmington College. You're a living legend!"
The mother of Lenny Diaspro '90 mentioned how friendships formed among parents through WC soccer still resonate in her life as the tightknit group formed in the 1980s has "laughed and cried together" through the course of shared vacations, weddings and funerals well into four decades.
Lewis, who was moved by the tributes, said that, as he's surveyed memories of 40 years coaching at Wilmington College, "It's all about the people."
The coach recalled coming to WC in 1975 and the program's "humble beginnings."
"They offered me a wonderful room in Pickett Hall and the chance to coach," he said. "I literally started with nine players."
He filled his roster with a few football players and others he recruited while walking around the campus. The 1975 Quakers scrimmaged Ohio State University, which rotated in 70 players. The regular season had Dayton, Cincinnati and Xavier on the schedule. Scoring a goal versus UD was a small victory upon which to build.
After two fledgling seasons, Lewis' teams produced 30 consecutive winning records. But Lewis believes wins and losses tell only tell one part of the Wilmington College soccer story. The shared experience, life lessons learned and relationships have proven even more enduring.
"You talk about me touching your lives, you should know how much you've touched my life and the life of my family," he said. "I want our current players to leave here tonight knowing that they, too, will develop lifelong friendships during their time at WC."