Semi-Pro soccer club Rockford FC is happy to announce the return of first year Head Coach, Brett Suhayda. Coach Brett says "Its always a great feel to be back coaching Rockford, great things are ahead for the club and for the city. We'd love to have the support of the community and continue to grow the team that represents the city at the highest soccer level in the area."
Meet Coach Brett Suhayda,
The 2024 season marks Brett Suhayda’s 16th year leading Waubonsee’s soccer program. Prior to playing a covid abbreviated 2021 Spring season, Suhayda guided the Chiefs to 106 wins over a seven- year span, an average of 15 wins per season. Under his leadership Waubonsee captured the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) titles five times (2012, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018) over a seven-year span, going a combined 38-9-2 in conference play for a 78 percent winning percentage. Waubonsee also reached the Final Four of the Region IV Tournament five times over seven years, winning the championship three times (2013, 2016 and 2017). Coach Suhayda has been named the ISCC Coach of the Year four times and the Region Coach of the Year three times. Under his watch 37 players have been named All-ISCC First Team including four Player of the Year honorees. There have also been 28 Chiefs chosen to the All-Region squad with five recognized as the Region Player of the Year and four named NJCAA Division I All-Americans. Four of his teams have been nationally ranked including the 2013 squad which finished the year 18-2 and ranked eighth nationally. Suhayda’s 2016 squad reeled off a school-record 19 game winning streak to finish the regular season (19-0-1) unbeaten for the first time ever. The 2017 crew then made it back-to-back ISCC and Region IV crowns as Waubonsee advanced to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Arizona for the first time in school history, finishing in the top-12 nationally.
Suhayda graduated from Oswego High School in 2001 where he starred for the Panthers on the soccer field. He was twice named All-Conference and served as team captain his senior year, when he also earned All-Area and All-Sectional Honorable Mention status. He was inducted into the Panthers’ Hall of Fame in February of 2012. Suhayda went on to play at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, excelling both on and off the field. A two-time All-Conference selection as a defender, Suhayda also earned Academic All-Conference honors his senior year. In addition he was named an All-Wisconsin First Teamer as a junior and an Honorable Mention selection his senior year. Suhayda served as the Vikings’ captain his senior year and was twice named the team’s Defensive Most Valuable Player.
Coach Suhayda completed a B.A. degree in Biology from Lawrence in 2005. He attended the Infosport Pro-Soccer combine in Florida that year and was invited to a tryout for a pair of professional teams, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and the Cincinnati Kings. A decade later Suhayda stepped on the pitch once again as a defender for the Aurora Borealis Soccer Club in their inaugural 2016 minor league season in the 12-team Premier League of America. He served as the the team's head coach the following two seasons and has served as the head coach for Rockford FC the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Suhayda earned an M.A. in Plant and Soil Science in 2008 from University of Massachusetts. Off the field he works in the Ecological Restoration Industry, serving as the estimator and crew foreman for Encap, Inc. Coach Suhayda lives in Sugar Grove.
We are thankful with former coach Denzel Pettigrew as he led Rockford FC in to the 2023 Midwest Premier League season. The club and players were very happy to have worked under Coach Denzel, he helped us in a transition year that was difficult for the team, but he rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
The Midwest Premier League season kicks off in May and runs until the end of July. You can join Brett Suhayda and Rockford FC for every game by pre-ordering your season tickets now, making you a member of the RFC community and giving you special perks like a free scarf (or jersey), discounted merch, and bring-a-friend vouchers. You can also keep updated on all things RFC by joining our email list.
Comments