Doug Kidd

There are very few individuals who have shaped and influenced North Carolina scholastic soccer in the last 25 years as much as Doug Kidd, 2016 NC Hall of Fame inductee. As a teacher, coach, administrator and officer, Kidd has championed both his sport and its grassroots development to the fullest and the results are continually evident. We are recognized regionally and nationally as a competitive state in high school soccer, and much of that has evolved with his guidance and diligence. For this, our sport is most fortunate.

Though a Raleigh native, Doug’s youth soccer development was centered in Greensboro. His club experience included playing for the ‘67 Kickers, 1985 U19 NC McGuire Cup State Champions coached by David Sanford (NC Soccer HOF, 2001). At Greensboro Page High School, under Coach Zack Osborne (NC Soccer HOF, 2003), Kidd was an All-Conference and NCSCA All-Region fullback and cherishes the memory of scoring the deciding goal in a Page-Grimsley rivalry game. He then moved on to play for Art Rex at Appalachian State, where the Mountaineers were 1989 Southern Conference Champions.

Doug Kidd’s coaching career began in 1992 at Watauga High School, where he took over as men’s coach and then started the women’s program two years later. In his 13-year dual role at the Boone school, he won more than 440 games and 16 conference titles, and the Pioneers became one of the most respected programs in the western part of the state. But in 2008 the coast beckoned and since then he has called Swansboro High School his coaching home. He has amassed a number of wins there, again with two programs, and in fact won his 700th overall game on opening night of the 2015 men’s season. More significantly, the Pirate women have won three state titles (2009, 2010 and 2013) and were state finalists in 2015. He is holder of a USSF “C” License and NSCAA Goalkeeper Diploma.

As a state soccer leader and director, Doug continues to show his tremendous leadership skills. Perhaps nowhere has this been better illustrated than in his role as President of the North Carolina Soccer Coaches Association, which he has led since 1998. As Zack Osborne has noted, “this is a job where a lot of regional views, sometimes quite disparate, must be patched together for the good of the whole. I don’t know of anyone that could have done a better job of keeping the organization relevant. He is anywhere that North Carolina soccer, particularly with high school, needs a voice.” One of the best examples of this became the “Clash of the Carolinas”, begun in 2007 with games in Charleston, SC and highlighting the best senior players (boys and girls) from North Carolina and South Carolina, as he was instrumental in its creation. In addition, he does a tremendous job as a soccer representative in dealings with the North Carolina Athletic Association.

In his role with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), he has also been a leader for state and region. He has served as its NC State Chairman for High School Soccer since 1998 and as Regional (2005-2011) and National (since 2011) chairman for the Girls High School Coach of the Year Awards.

His peers certainly recognize Kidd’s contributions. He has been NCSCA State Coach of the Year four times and in 1998 was named Boys Large Public South Region COY. But perhaps his highest recognition came in December 2015 when he was named 2015 National Soccer Coaches Association Girls Soccer Coach of the Year for the large high school division.

For any young coach in any sport wondering how to make it better, the message is resoundingly clear: Get involved, stay with what you start and be willing to do the small things that make big things possible. Doug Kidd is your example, and for his efforts soccer in North Carolina rewards him with a deserved place in its Hall of Fame.