Phil Seil

PHIL SEIL is being inducted the OYSAN Hall of Fame for his impact on all areas of soccer during the past five decades.  When Phil was 18-years old, he came to the Cleveland area from Germany in 1952.  He met and married Barbara in 1957.  Phil carried a knowledge and passion for the game of soccer that he was eager to share so that other could enjoy the beautiful game as much as he did.   His soon set about the tasks of growing soccer at all levels locally, regionally and nationally.

In the fall of 1966, Phil started a youth soccer program through the Broadview Hts. Recreation Department.Phil was the driving force in the structuring of the Broadview Hts. soccer program and was responsible for obtaining land from the city for soccer fields.The city would not commit any other resources at that time to the building of the field so Phil graded the land with a borrowed bulldozer.He enlisted (forced) his wife, daughters, friends, players, parents, and passersby to pick stones from the field.He organized the preparation of the soil and the planting of the seeds.  Phil was also sowing seeds of passion for the sport in Northern Ohio . 

By 1968, Phil had collaborated with a few other men in the community to grow the program to three teams playing in Divisions A, B and C of the Lake Erie Junior Soccer League.  Phil was one of the first presidents of the Lake Erie Junior League.  Broadview Hts. was the first community team to join with the ethic clubs in the league.  He was a leader and visionary who helped move youth soccer from the ethnic clubs into the communities. 

Phil believed in opportunities for all kids to play in many sports.So in 1971, he was appointed to the Broadview Hts. Recreation Board to facilitate the growth of soccer and other youth sports in the community.  Later he took another position as the Commissioner of Soccer.

Phil was one of the “founding fathers” of youth soccer in Northern Ohio . He saw only the positives of moving youth soccer from the exclusive ethic clubs into the communities.  Such a move would expand the opportunities for greater numbers of quality athletes to be engaged in soccer.  In 1972, Phil helped found the Ohio Amateur Soccer League and was a guiding force in establishing lasting structures, policies and procedures for that league.

Phil understood that his knowledge of the game and coaching methodologies had to grow.He was awarded his USSF C license in 1975 and has continued to this day as a student of the game.

Phil knew that the next piece of the pyramid was to add soccer as an interscholastic sport.Here was an additional source of resources for the players and the game.  Phil envisioned the starting of high school programs to provide for fields, paid coaches, stadiums, newspaper coverage, community support, peer recognition for the players and three to four training sessions per week.He was able to convince the amateur leagues to move their season from fall to spring so as not to conflict with the high school season.  He lobbied the Ohio High School Athletic Association to make soccer a Varsity sport and to sponsor a State Championship.   

What other area needed growing?  Referees?  Phil became a referee and, in his usual fashion, became involved in establishing professionalism among referee while at the same time growing the ranks of young officials.  He helped Earl Patterson write the first Handbook for Referees and started the courses for referees.  He served as an officer in the Northern Ohio Referees Association and was even the Rules Interpreter for the organization.He was appointed as the first state Rules Interpreter for OHSAA.Phil refereed amateur, high school and college games from 1969-1995.

So Phil was involved in community soccer, youth soccer, high school soccer.He was a player, a coach and a referee.   He was league administrator, a Recreation Board member, a Rules Interpreter.  He built the fields, cut the grass, lined the field and put up nets.

There was another level, the professional game, which beckoned his talents and fervor.From 1972-1975, Phil served as the Business Manager for the Cleveland Stars of the American Soccer League.He collaborated with men such as Howard Metzenbaum, Ted Bonda and others to bring professional soccer to the Cleveland area.  This professional team was followed by the Cleveland Cobras.

Imagine the rings rippling across the lake from the many stones.Try to wrap your mind around the impact Phil was having and continues to have on the landscape of soccer.HeHe

Phil’s greatest impact was as a COACH.His impact on the style of play and on the players cannot be described in words.  He was an apostle of the “indirect” game as play by the Germans and the Dutch.We used to say that Phil was only happy when his would make 20 consecutive one-touch passes and could walk the ball across the line. 

He forced the entry of the Broadview Hts. teams into the Lake Erie League.It was faith in Phil that made people stay the course while losing every game at every age-group for three years.He was an advocate of player development by concentrating on player performance and not on the outcome.In 1970, the teams were rewarded with better results and by 1971, even crowned some champions in the ethnic-dominated league.The youth players who still idolized Phil for his contribution to their soccer success include Sam and Mike Patterson, Alan Jefferis, Mike Chojnicki, Roby Stahl, John and Tim Tyma, Jerry Shutway, Phil Imbrigiotta, Henry Korecko, Mike Dosen, and dozens of others.He was a patient mentor to a young coach by the name of Tony Niccoli who hung on his every word and who was driven to someday win his approval. 

With Tony and Phil coaching, those players, wearing the colors of Brecksville-Broadview Hts. High School , captured a State Championship in 1975 and followed that with a 20-0 trip to a second final where they were upset by Finneytown.  They posted 28 straight wins without a loss or tie.Their four-year record was 70-9-0.In that same year, 1976, the team advanced to the semi-finals of the McGuire Cup and after outplaying Emo’s Pizza from St. Louis at the Broadview Hts. field, lost in the second overtime.Emo’s traveled to California and had an easy victory in the final.  The letter from their team manager graciously stated that our team was quite superior to them and deserving of the National crown.  These were all Phil’s players.  He had coached them since their start in soccer.The numbers of these players who are now coaches is outstanding and, by itself, worthy of Hall of Fame recognition.

Many of these players became impact players in the college ranks and even some had professional careers.  During a contentious Akron University-Cleveland State University match, there were 7 players on the field (and another on the bench) from Brecksville-Broadview Hts. High School .  Both college teams were ranked in the Top 20 in the country.           

Phil continued to coach throughout the 1980s and even into the 1990s.   As recently as 2002, he coached his granddaughter’s travel team in Brunswick and even took on another travel team in Broadview Hts.            

“SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE.  IT WILL MAKE YOU IMMORTAL.” The Dahli Lama

“ TOUCH THE FUTURE.  I AM A TEACHER.” Christa Macaulif.

The impact of Phil Seil will be felt in Ohio for many generations to come.