St. Thomas Aquinas head soccer coach Roger Harriott has been named the 2025 Nationwide Soccer Coach of the Yr by the Nationwide Excessive Faculty Coaches Affiliation (NHSCA), in partnership with Excessive Faculty Soccer American (HSFA) yet one more milestone in a profession outlined by consistency, management, and elite programme constructing.
Reflecting on the honour, Harriott mentioned:
“The Nationwide Coach of the Yr award is humbly acquired with gratitude. This blessed recognition was the results of an inspiring staff effort of religious gamers, coaches, assist workers members. It was solely by God’s nice grace that we had been in a position to obtain this nationwide honor as grateful champions for Christ.”
A Report-Setting Season in Florida
The award follows a historic 2025 season for the Fort Lauderdale-based faculty, which underneath Harriott’s management captured the Excessive Faculty Soccer America Nationwide Championship and secured a seventh consecutive Florida state title—the longest championship streak within the state’s historical past.
The staff completed the season ranked primary nationally and remained the top-ranked programme in Florida, reinforcing St. Thomas Aquinas’ repute as one of the crucial dominant highschool soccer groups in the US.
Constructing a Championship Programme
Harriott has served as head coach at St. Thomas Aquinas since 2015 and has guided the varsity to 9 of its fifteen state championships throughout his tenure. Earlier than becoming a member of Aquinas, he additionally led NSU College Faculty to a Florida state title in 2012, demonstrating a capability to construct successful cultures throughout a number of programmes.
The Nationwide Soccer Coach of the Yr award is without doubt one of the highest honours in American highschool soccer, recognising long-term success, management, and programme stability. Harriott turns into simply the sixteenth coach nationally to obtain the award for the reason that NHSCA and Excessive Faculty Soccer America partnership started in 2010, and solely the second coach from St. Thomas Aquinas to earn the excellence.
From Mandeville to the Nationwide Stage
Born in Mandeville Jamaica, Harriott spent his early years on the island, attending Flower Hill Main Faculty in Montego Bay and later Priory Excessive Faculty in Kingston earlier than migrating to the US. His Jamaican upbringing stays a key a part of his id, grounding a training philosophy constructed on self-discipline, preparation, and construction.
Sport is deeply rooted within the Harriott household. Two of his daughters have represented Jamaica with the Reggae Ladies, together with his youthful daughter, who at simply 17 years previous is already a part of the nationwide setup.
Extending the Legacy By Soccer Improvement
Harriott’s affect additionally extends again to Jamaica by his brother, Jerome Harriott. Collectively, they co-founded the National Tackle Football Association (NTFA), the recognised governing physique for American soccer in Jamaica.
The NTFA, endorsed by the Authorities of Jamaica, oversees the event of deal with and flag soccer throughout the island, primarily on the secondary faculty degree. The programme is now increasing flag soccer into main faculties for each girls and boys and is working in the direction of structured implementation on the tertiary degree, whereas additionally sustaining an lively nationwide deal with staff.
Wanting Forward
As St. Thomas Aquinas prepares to enter the 2026 season as defending nationwide and state champions, Harriott’s 2025 Nationwide Soccer Coach of the Yr award displays greater than a single season’s success. It recognises a profession constructed on sustained excellence—linking championship efficiency in the US with long-term soccer growth and alternative creation in Jamaica.
