(John Schreiber)
The Texas Credit Union’s Walk of Fame at Pizza Hut Park will honor SMU men’s soccer coach Schellas Hyndman by enshrining him in its third class of members.
Pizza Hut Park honors people through the Walk of Fame who have made considerable contributions to soccer in Texas. Pizza Hut Park is home to the Major League Soccer team FC Dallas and is located in Frisco.
SMU alumnus Lamar Hunt established the Walk of Fame in the Park when he owned FC Dallas. Hunt is also a member of the Walk after his many contributions to Texas soccer like purchasing the Dallas Burn and turning them into the successful franchise of FC Dallas.
There are not a great number of members considering Hyndman is apart of only the third class of members. He will be in the company of Hunt and respected former indoor soccer player Antonio Carlos “Tatu” Pecorari, who now owns soccer camps that promote the sport throughout Texas.
Another member of the walk is Jeff Agoos. Agoos was born in Switzerland, but grew up in the United States and graduated from J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson. He has appeared in 134 of the United States National team games as a defender.
Hyndman will be in impressive company, but that is not surprising considering not only Hyndman’s coaching statistics and overall impact on Texas soccer.
The Mustangs are the only major men’s soccer program in the state of Texas and Hyndman has turned them into a perennial powerhouse.
Since taking over the SMU program nearly 24 seasons ago, Hyndman has posted a record of 360-89-35. Overall, Hyndman has a record of 458-119-49 in 31 seasons of coaching after spending his first seven years at his alma mater, Eastern Illinois University.
In 28 of Hyndman’s 30 full seasons, his team has reached the NCAA tournament. Four of those teams have reached the semifinals; most recently the 2005 Mustangs reached the semifinals.
Hyndman has been named conference Coach of the Year eight times by three of the different conferences SMU has been apart of over his career. He has also been named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Midwest Coach of the Year five out of the last six years.
Hyndman also served as the national president of the NSCAA and won the National Coach of the Year award in 1986.
Not only have the Mustangs teams under Hyndman succeeded over the years, but individual players have found success as well. Twenty of Hyndman’s players have been named All-Americans and two of them won national Player of the Year awards. Daniel Hernandez won the NSCAA Player of the Year award in 1997 and Luis Gonzalez won the Hermann Trophy in 2001.
On top of his coaching credentials, Hyndman runs area soccer camps that benefit players who come from all over Texas.
The induction into the walk provides deserved recognition for the most successful collegiate men’s soccer coach in Texas and SMU’s most victorious coach of all time.
