Legendary UFV soccer coach Alan Errington has retired after 11 seasons with the men’s soccer team.
Tom Lowndes, his assistant coach the past two seasons, will serve a one-year term as interim head coach.
“How fortunate we have been at UFV for 11 years having Alan at the helm of the men’s soccer program,” Cascades acting athletic director Chris Bertram said. “When the team moved to the CIS in 2006 we needed someone who could put the team on the map quickly, and that’s exactly what Alan has done. He leaves a great legacy at UFV and indeed across the B.C. soccer landscape.
Errington’s coaching career started in 1974 when a broken ankle forced him from the pitch to patrolling the sidelines as a coach. After a stint coaching the B.C. provincial program, Errington took over the Vancouver Whitecaps reserve team, helping develop players who contributed to the team’s 1979 North American Soccer League Soccer Bowl title.
Later he served as Bob Lenarduzzi’s assistant coach with a Vancouver 86ers side that won four straight Canadian Soccer League championships.
He also coached with Canada Soccer, both with youth and senior men’s national teams, and was part of the coaching staff of the men’s side that qualified for the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Along with contributions at UFV, Errington also led the Abbotsford Magnuson Ford Soccer Club’s U18 boys team to back-to-back national championships in 2002 and 2003.
“I’ve got mixed emotions about retirement, because I really enjoy the job,” said Errington, who has twice been inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame with the Whitecaps and 86ers. “I enjoy the people at UFV, and the players. But I feel ready to retire. I want to spend more time with my wife, and do the things that I haven’t been able to do because football always got in the way.”