Reid announces he is retiring
The 14- to 16-hour days began when Ray Reid stepped into the world of coaching in 1983.
It was all-consuming, from his years as an assistant and later head coach at Southern Connecticut State through the past 24 seasons at UConn.
It’s the only way Reid knows how to coach and operate.
It’s also the reason why he’s stepping away.
Reid announced Thursday he was retiring as UConn’s head soccer coach, leaving a program he took to national heights. At 61, Reid still possesses the fire and drive and love for the game.
But he simply lacks the hours in the day to devote to UConn. Reid’s elderly parents have been experiencing health issues the past few years and Reid has been drawn to Long Island, where he grew up and where his parents reside.
Shuffling between Connecticut and New York has been dizzying. Reid took a leave of absence from the program last spring to devote his time to his parents.
Reid returned this fall, but he’s determined that he needs to step away again. This time, permanently.
“I’ve got mixed emotions, but my parents need my help,” Reid said. “The time I need to give UConn, to keep this thing at a high level, is hard with me driving down to New York to help my parents.”
UConn will begin searching for another coach under the same circumstances that lured Reid from Southern in December 1996 — the school is looking for someone to replace a legend. Reid took over for Joe Morrone, who won a national title and built UConn into an elite program.
Within four years in Storrs, Reid would win his own NCAA championship. There would be 20 consecutive winning seasons, 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, 19 seasons as a nationally-ranked top 25 program, and a stream of players migrating to professional careers.
“I’m proud,” Reid said. “But I let other people pass judgment on whether I did a good job or not. I don’t do it because it’s not for me to evaluate myself.”
Here’s the evaluation of Tony Rizza, a UConn soccer player in the 1980s who has become the program’s biggest financial booster.
“He obviously had big shoes to fill when he replaced Coach Morrone, who built UConn soccer from the ground up,” said Rizza, whose $8 million donation financed construction of the program’s new soccer facility. “From my perspective, when they hired him that must have felt like a pretty big burden for Ray to fill those shoes. But he did. He was a great coach. Tremendous winning record, tremendous players that came out of the system and went on to play pro soccer. He won a national championship.
“And just the human being, the man. Just a caring man, he cared for every one of his players. He cared for his best players just as much as he cared for the guy at the end of the bench. Just a solid guy. I’m sorry that he’s leaving us so soon. But I hope he’s happy. He deserves to be.”
Reid retires as one of the most significant figures in Connecticut soccer history. He was 311-132-63 at UConn and 457-149-78 overall, including his eight years as Southern’s head coach.
Reid, who came to Southern as a player after attending Suffolk Community College on Long Island, won three Division II national titles as the coach of his alma mater. He was also an assistant under Bob Dikranian when Southern won a national title in 1987.
He was 146-17-15 at Southern.
Reid said he’s not necessarily through with coaching. He may continue in a role at UConn, but the demands of coaching are simply too great.
“It’s been going on for a while,” Reid said. “It’s a tough decision. We’ve got a great group of kids. A talented group returning. It’s a tough decision.”
The Huskies were 7-7-2 this fall, after going 1-6-1 during a spring season moved from the fall because of the pandemic.
Reid did not coach in the spring, leaving the program to associate head coach Mike Miller. The leave of absence was necessitated by the need of his parents, Ray and Joan. They have been a visible presence throughout Reid’s coaching career, from Southern to Storrs to spots where titles were won.
In February, Ray Reid Sr. fell and broke five ribs at Reid’s home in Niantic. That happened eight months after Joan experienced an incident while driving — either a stroke or a series of mini-strokes.
The Reids, in their mid-80s, haven’t been the same. Reid said his sister retired earlier this year and lives in Houston. So it’s up to Reid and one of his daughters to provide care.
His mother, Reid said, isn’t an easy patient and not particularly open to caregivers outside the family.
“It’s hard to get down there and my mom is a bit Type A … she’s stubborn,” Reid said. “So trying to help her is not easy.
“But I’m at UConn because of them. They’ve been here my whole life to support me. It’s the least I can do.”
Reid attributes his work ethic to his parents. There are other traits he inherited — loyalty, generosity.
In 2020, Reid established the Reid Family Fund to give scholarships to minority coaches to attend either a United Soccer Coaches education course or the annual coaching convention. Reid started the scholarship with a $25,000 donation.