(Pictured L to R: Inductee-Gonzalo Abrigo, award presented by guest speaker: Jill Ellis, Gonzalo introduced by son, Nick Abrigo)

• Gonzalo coached in SYA from 1995 – 2009.

• He started coaching his oldest son Nicolas at u6 and coached him on the SYA Sidekicks travel team. He also coached his son Sebastian at u6 and coached him on the travel team, SYA NOVA.  

• He coached the travel team, SYA Sidekicks from U9-U16. The Sidekicks won three State Championships at ages U12(2001-2002), U15(2004-2005) and U16(2005-2006). At U13 and U14 the Sidekicks were State Cup Finalists. 

• The Sidekicks at U12 were also Region 1 (East Region) Finalist. 

• Gonzalo also coached the travel team, SYA NOVA, for eight years. NOVA was a top Division One team for all those years and made the Final Four twice.   

• Gonzalo coached numerous players that went on to play at top colleges and in the professional ranks. Some are listed below. 

• On the SYA Sidekicks: Howard Turk played for the U17 US National Team and UVA. John Stertzer played at Maryland and played with Salt Lake City and New York FC. Nicolas Abrigo, played at The College of William and Mary, was the second leading scorer in 2010 and led them to the final sixteen.  

• On the SYA NOVA: Connor Coward played at James Madison, was their leading scorer two years.  Sebastian Abrigo played at Christopher Newport University all four years and helped lead them to the top ten national ranking. Connor Kirkham was a four-year starter at Virginia Wesleyan.