Heat's Chinapoo Coach of the Year
by NPSL Press Release
Published on April 24, 2001 under National Professional Soccer League (NPSL)
HEAT'S CHINAPOO IS COACH OF THE YEAR
NPSL Press Release
Harrisburg skipper guides team's worst-to-first turnaround
(Westport, Conn.) â Richard Chinapoo of the Harrisburg Heat has been named the 2000-01 National Professional Soccer League Coach of the Year, the League announced on Tuesday. Chinapoo was selected through a voting process involving head coaches and a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters from each of the NPSL's 10 host cities.
Voters were asked to list three NPSL head coaches. A first-place ballot was worth five points, a second-place selection was worth three points, and a third-place vote was worth one point.
Chinapoo, in his third year as the skipper of the Heat, is a first-time recipient of the award, beating out Milwaukee's Keith Tozer and Buffalo's Paul Kitson. Chinapoo received 127 points and 19 first-place votes. Tozer finished with 76 points and six first place votes while Kitson amassed 50 points and six first-place ballots.
Chinapoo, who enjoyed an eight-year NPSL playing career before moving behind the bench full-time for the 2000-01 season, guided the Heat to the first-ever worst-to-first turnaround in NPSL history. Harrisburg, which had gone 16-28 a year ago while finishing with the worst record in the American Conference, posted a league-best 24-16 mark during the 2000-01 campaign.
The Long Island University graduate, who acted as a player/coach for parts of the 1998-99 and 1999-00 seasons, has guided the Heat to a 61-63 record in 124 games as the franchise's head coach.
The native of Trinidad has also been instrumental in the development of young NPSL stars such as Steve Klein and Chris Morman. Klein was the 1999-00 NPSL Rookie of the Year runner-up and a 1999-00 NPSL All-Rookie selection. Morman was recently named to the 2000-01 NPSL All-Rookie squad while finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting.
Chinapoo's honoring as the 2000-01 NPSL Coach of the Year marks the second time in Harrisburg Heat franchise history that the team's head coach has received the award. Jim Pollihan was recognized with the honor following the franchise's inaugural 1991-92 campaign.
Chinapoo also continues a trend in which a former All-NPSL performer has been named NPSL Coach of the Year. Keith Tozer, Ross Ongaro, Zoran Savic, Daryl Doran, Pato Margetic, and Rick Schweizer are all Coach of the Year honorees who were deemed All-NPSL selections during their playing careers. In each of the last nine seasons, the NPSL Coach of the Year honoree has also been a former All-NPSL selection.
National Professional Soccer League Stories from April 24, 2001
- Heat's Chinapoo Coach of the Year - OSC Original by NPSL Press Release
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