Gary Hindley (born May 8, 1947) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

coach. He has coached youth soccer, high school, college and professional teams. He won Coach of the Year honors in 1984 in the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

, 1991 American Professional Soccer League and 1998 (

Eastern Indoor Soccer League The Eastern Indoor Soccer League (EISL) was an American professional regional indoor soccer league. The league featured teams from the Southeastern United States. The regular seasons were played from May to August with post-season play in Septem ...

). He won the 1993-94 National Professional Soccer League championship with the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 in ...

. His overall coaching record in professional, collegiate and scholastic soccer is 433-307-28 (.585).

Player

In 1965, Hindley graduated from Wall High School in

Wall Township, New Jersey Wall Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. It is located in the New York Metropolitan Area and is a bedroom community of New York. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 26,164, refle ...

, where he was the first captain of the boys' soccer program team. In 2002, he was inducted into the Wall High School Hall of Fame and enshrined in the school's Soccer Hall of Fame in 2009. He then attended

Trenton State College The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, or ...

(now called the College of New Jersey), where he played on the men's soccer team from 1965 to 1968. In 1965, Hindley and his teammates won the

NAIA national men's soccer championship The NAIA Men's Soccer Championship is the annual tournament to determine the national champions of NAIA men's collegiate soccer in the United States and Canada. It has been held annually since 1959. The most successful program is Quincy (IL), ...

, finishing runner up in 1966. In addition to his four-year soccer career, Hindley spent one season on both the basketball and gymnastics teams and three seasons as an infielder on the baseball team. He graduated in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in education and earned his master's degree in 1970. He was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. He played briefly in the American Soccer League in 1969 and 1971.

Coach

In 1970, Hindley became an assistant coach at

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

. In 1974,

hired Hindley to coach both the men's soccer and baseball teams. He spent eight seasons at Trenton State, compiling a 92-48-12 record with the soccer team and a 134-123-4 record with the baseball team. In 1982, he left Trenton State to become an assistant coach with the

Pennsylvania Stoners The Pennsylvania Stoners were an American soccer team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2007, the team played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, ...

of the American Soccer League. At the end of the 1983 season, Hindley was hired as an assistant coach with the

Los Angeles Lazers The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989. History Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Strings of Tea ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League. In 1984, Hindley became head coach of the

Houston Dynamos Houston Dynamos was a U.S. soccer team that existed in various forms from 1983 to 1991. In 1991, the team's owners changed the name to Houston International, but the team lasted only through the 1992 season before folding. The Dynamos were foun ...

of the

. He took the Dynamos to the championship game, losing to the

Fort Lauderdale Sun Fort Lauderdale Sun was a U.S. soccer team which played two seasons in the United Soccer League. In 1984, the team was known as the Fort Lauderdale Sun. Before the 1985 season they changed their name to the South Florida Sun. Origins The United S ...

. Hindley was named the USL Coach of the Year. In 1985, the Dynamo withdrew from the USL and played as an independent team under Hindley's direction. In 1986, the expansion

Memphis Storm The Memphis Storm was an American soccer team based in Memphis, Tennessee which existed from 1986 to 1994. They underwent several names changes including the Rogues, the Survivors, the United Express and finally the Jackals. They played in the Am ...

of the

American Indoor Soccer Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

hired Hindley as the team's first head coach. The Storm fired him on Dec. 9, 1986 after a 3–6 start. He then returned to the Lazers where he remained until hired by the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1 ...

as an assistant coach on Jan. 14, 1987. On Feb. 22, 1988, the Sting fired Erich Geyer and elevated Hindley to head coach. The Sting withdrew from the league and folded after the season. Hindley remained in Chicago where he ran youth soccer camps. In February 1989, the

Orlando Lions The Orlando Lions were an American soccer team from Orlando, Florida which existed from 1985 to 1996. Over the years, the Lions competed at both the amateur and professional levels including some seasons as an independent team. The Lions is a ni ...

of the American Soccer League hired Hindley. In 1990, the ASL merged with the

Western Soccer League Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

to form the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

. Hindley and the Lions played the 1990 season in the new league. When the Lions merged with the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

in January 1991, the combined team released Hindley who then signed with the

Maryland Bays The Maryland Bays were an inaugural franchise of the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988.They were based in Catonsville, Maryland, and played their games at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The team joined the Ameri ...

on March 15, 1991. Hindley took the Bays to the top of the league standings and was named the 1991 APSL Coach of the Year. The Bays folded during the off-season and Hindley ran soccer camps in Florida until hired by the

of the National Professional Soccer League on Sept. 30, 1992. He guided Cleveland to playoff series wins over the

Buffalo Blizzard The Buffalo Blizzard was a soccer club that existed from 1992 to 2001 in Buffalo, New York. History The team was originally owned by the Knox brothers who owned the Buffalo Sabres at the time, and additionally by the Riches who owned the minor l ...

and Harrisburg Heat before losing the championship to the

Kansas City Attack The Kansas City Attack, previously the Atlanta Attack and later known as the Kansas City Comets, were an indoor soccer team based for most of its existence in Kansas City, Missouri. In its various incarnations the franchise played in the National P ...

in the final game of a five-game series. In 1994, Hindley coached the American Conference in the NPSL All-Star Game, then took the Crunch to the NPSL championship, defeating Buffalo and Harrisburg and beating the St. Louis Ambush, three games to one for the title. Hindley's contract with the Crunch ended in 1995 and on April 19, 1995, he was hired by the expansion

Cincinnati Silverbacks The Cincinnati Silverbacks was an indoor soccer club based in Cincinnati, Ohio that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. History They performed under the leadership of All-Star goalkeeper Carlos Pena. Other star players include ...

. In September 1996, he moved to coach the

. The team fired him in March 1997. In February 1998, he became head coach of the

Mississippi Beach Kings The Mississippi Beach Kings were an indoor soccer team based in Biloxi, Mississippi, United States. They played their games in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. They were members of the Eastern Indoor Soccer League and played only during the 1998 ...

of the

. He was the 1998 EISL Coach of the Year. Both the Beach Kings and the EISL folded at the end of the season. On Nov. 10, 2000, he was named head coach of the expansion

Toronto ThunderHawks Toronto ThunderHawks were an indoor soccer team based in Mississauga, Ontario that competed in the defunct NPSL. The team began play in the 2000–2001 season, with home games at the Hershey Centre. The team was owned by businessman Neil Ja ...

of the NPSL.ThunderHawks Hindley no stranger to expansion
/ref> His overall record as a head coach in 14 seasons at the professional level was 433-305-30. In February 2002, Hindley was named Director of Coaching and Player Development for the Knoxville Football Club. In 2008, he moved to the Bay United Soccer Club in

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn Ha ...

as coaching advisor and goalkeeper coach.

Referee

Hindley was a much noted referee for nearly 25 years and assigned some of the highest level games. As a noted member of the NISOA National Ref Program, he had consistent requests to work the ACC Tournament finals, NCAA and NAIA tournament contests, and as a center for the HS Final Four in Florida. In 1991, he was selected by the Florida Intercollegiate Soccer Coaches Association as the Referee of the Year.

High school

From 2009 until 2014, Hindley was head coach of both the boys and girls varsity teams at 1A Port St. Joe High School in Florida. His inexperienced squads compiled a 91-54-13 (.627) record overall with tournament successes at the District and Regional levels of the Florida State Championship series. Since 2018, he has stayed active by coaching the Gulfview HS (Naples, FL) boys for one season and Marco Island (FL) Middle School girls for two seasons, compiling a 14-11-0 (.560) record and one league championship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hindley, Gary 1947 births Living people American Indoor Soccer Association coaches American Professional Soccer League coaches American soccer coaches American soccer players American Soccer League (1988–89) coaches American Soccer League (1933–1983) coaches American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Eastern Indoor Soccer League coaches Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) coaches United Soccer League (1984–85) coaches Association football goalkeepers People from Wall Township, New Jersey Soccer players from New Jersey Sportspeople from Monmouth County, New Jersey Wall High School (New Jersey) alumni High school soccer coaches in the United States TCNJ Lions men's soccer coaches Middlebury Panthers men's soccer coaches TCNJ Lions men's soccer players