It is not too soon to start drumming up support for the Coach of the Year. I personally think that the Richmond Kickers Coach, Leigh Cowlishaw deserves this honor.

I might not agree with all of his moves and decisions (no one can agree with every decision of a coach), however, Coach Cowlishaw has used excellent coaching manuevers to assemble a championship contender again this season. Since taking over as Coach, Mr. Cowlishaw has always had winning teams in Richmond. He clearly is doing the right things to motivate his players!!

Good job Coach!!

GO KICKERS!!!

Thanks Mrs. Cowlishaw.

Fat Chance Bucko! I ain't no dame. You are just jealous that your coach is a loser!

Cowlishaw? Give me a break. He has a team with all the talent in the world and they are fighting for a playoff spot. Year in a year out, Richmond signs great players and still can't seem to do better than 2nd place in their division. Let's remember that they struggled to find their groove last season before finally coming together for a magnificent playoff run.

My vote goes to Lilley in Montreal.

Liley of montreal would get my vote too....he's doen a great job there.

Maybe outside favs for the championship.

And that is a sign of a great coach!

But my vote (if I had one) would go to Irraben (sp?) from Pittsburgh. Lilley has done a good job but with the talent he has they should win.

No one really sticks out as of yet as far as Coach of the Year goes because A-League has parity in terms of talent. As far as current candidates, I think Ramsey (Charleston), Cowlishaw (Richmond), Lilley (Montreal), Schmetzer (Seattle), and Lagos (Minnesota) are all in the running for Coach of the Year... who wins is all dependent on the outcome of the A-League regular season.

As much as I dislike their physical tactics, you'd have to throw Art Kramer in Milwaukee into the mix, I think. In fact, I'd probably consider him the favorite at this point if they hold on and make the playoffs.

SOUTHEAST:

Charleston has more money than G*D (or Chelsea), so some people say, so they go out each year and get (buy) talent to keep them near the top (See Chronopoulos, Henderson, Titus). That said, their whole team atmosphere sure seems volital (sp?)...also going 1-1-2 in their last four doesn't get him (Ramsey) any awards either, unless they can get over their playoff jinx to win some hardware.

Another "dark horse" for some would be Richmond's Leigh Cowlishaw, who's had to deal with losing players in the off-season and some injuries (Knight, Brown). Again, he may be considered but I don't think he'll make the final cut.

The team in Virginia Beach sure comes to play when it comes to TV games - maybe Mariner1 should just tell the club that EVERY game next year will be on FSW! That said, while the club has definitely improved, they've given away alot points - maybe too many to make the playoffs this year. Should be interesting to see where Shawn McDonald's club stands at the end of the year.

CENTRAL:

As for Milwaukee, who's to say? Kramer's got some talent but again, he also seems to be dealing with alot of supposed discension among the ranks (according to what's been posted around here). I'm not near enough to form any real opinion here - It's just hard to tell how much of an influence Kramer has on the team.

NORTHEAST:

Rochester's Pat Ercoli always seems to be in the mix (however noting the team's latest 1-2-1 results). For all the recent cries of being too defensive, they have also stepped up their scoring (are they leading the league at this point?)...so he may be considered - despite or because of the payroll clout behind him.

Ricardo Iribarren has had great results with the Riverhounds because he has just let them play, but I wouldn't give him the nod because he hasn't held the position for the full season.

PACIFIC: (being so far away it's hard to have a real opinion here)

It seems that some folks here are not big fans of Vancouver's current form. How much of this can you attribute to Tony Fonseca? Not sure but by August 8th we'll have a pretty good idea if they'll still be in the playoff picture!

Portland's recent 8-2 stretch puts HC Bobby Howe more in the picture for an award. He stands an even better chance if the club can clinch a playoff spot, but he'll have to find a way to beat Seattle first!

So with all that said here's my top three candidates for "Coach Of The Year"

Buzz Lagos (Minnesota) - another solid job with with seems to be a very cohesive squad, although they seem to have been going through a scoring drought.

Brian Schmetzer (Seattle) - has again led the Sounders to the top of the division, making do with less offense than previous seasons. Seems to continually have organized teams.

...but the winner will be -

Bob Lilley (Montreal) - Lilley is building on the squad that was reformed last year. They have put together a good mix of veterans and talented youngers who seem to play together for each other. The team is following Lilley's organized example and I expect to see them competing for the A-League Championship because of his leadership.

My vote right now would also go to Bob Lilley. But I would have to say if the Thunder can continue to hold their extremely impressive road record Lagos will deserves the honors hands down. Coach Kramer could be a good pick too. He has melded two clubs into one and has Milwaukee looking to the playoffs.