His license plates say it all—"Mr. Soccer." The State of Hawaii has never known a more committed, involved and passionate person when it comes to soccer.
Male, female, young, old, it doesn't matter, the game of
soccer is Mr. Jack Sullivan's love.
Jack's futbol roots go back over three decades in the islands, being one of the orig-inal
American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) soccer coaches in 1974. His coaching experiences were far from limited to just AYSO. He additionally, over the next 30 years, was involved with the Hawaii Youth
Soccer Association (HYSA), Women's Island Soccer Association
(WISA), Intercol-legiate High School League and began the first ever soccer programs at
the Women's Correctional and youth Correctional facili-ties. He so believed in the sport
and the val-ue if brought to these troubled individuals that he worked with the correctional
facility and the state, and actually arranged an out-ing for 11 individuals to play two
scrim-mage games in the new Aloha Stadium. You can only imagine the excitement and
self worth that Uncle Jack brought to these challenged teens.
Jack's soccer skills are not limited to just coaching, he is a very gifted writer and orator. For years he had a soccer column
in the Honolulu Sporting Newspaper, known as Uncle Jack's
Soccer Comer, where he not only shared the daily on goings of soccer in the state, but he would set visions out there, challenging us all to think beyond
where we were in the islands with soccer.
Jack's trusty voice was as a regular announcer at the Tsunami Professional Soccer games, as well as many high school
championship tournaments. His commit-
ment to the game of soccer was recognized in the state in 1989, when Jack was awarded by the Honolulu Advertiser as one of
the top ten "Who Win In Sports" for relentlessly promoting
and recognizing the sport of soc-cer. He was in the company of professional baseball players,
golfers and college volley-ball and football players. He did the sport proud.
It was no wonder when the state decided
to begin a Division 1 Women's Soccer Team at the University of Hawaii, in 1994.
Jack was at the founding table. He still goes to all the games and sits on the
field right next to the team and the athletic staff. He was
also equally instrumental to the city, as they developed a task force that created and built the prestigious Waipio Soccer Complex; the 19
field complex that hosted the 2003 and 2004 Veteran's Cup.
As if Mr. Sullivan has not paid his dues and done his role, he's still an active board member of the Hawaii Soccer Association
(HSA) and a committee member of the Hawaii High School Athletic Associa-tion Soccer Tournaments.
He diligently fol lows all the high school players that go off to college and play, and it is not unusual to receive an e-mail from him, asking
if you had heard (which he already had) how a cei tain
player had scored or saved a winning goal. If we didn't know better, we would think he was a staff member at USASA - he is so connected
on what is happening with soccer.
Jack Sullivan may only hit the tape a 5ft. 6 in., but for anyone who knows him
and the game of soccer, this man is a giant. He has opened
so many doors and laid the groundwork for all of us that play the game in the 50th state. The State of Hawaii is trul Indebted to the man known as Mr. Soccer-JACK SULLIVAN.
