AYSO tournament renamed after Sigi Schmid

Recently the American Youth Soccer Association announced the AYSO National Cup has been renamed the Sigi Schmid AYSO Open Cup, in honor of the former LA Galaxy manager who spent his life teaching and giving back to the sport. About 200 teams will participate in the June tournament taking place at the new Galway Downs location in Temecula.

“Beyond his countless accolades and illustrious soccer career, Sigi provided a fighting spirit to American soccer itself – adding to the beauty of the game through his genuine passion to grow the sport. AYSO was very fortunate to have Sigi’s involvement and support throughout the years,” director Mike Hoyer declared in a statement.

Sigi was actually a member of the original AYSO team, the Firefighters.

“The Firefighters was hugely important because our coach, George K. – or Scotty as we called him – was a big influence in my life. His passion for the game and commitment to training and details were fantastic for me as a young player. I ended up playing for him for approximately five years,” recalled Sigi on his first years of AYSO.