Wake Forest Athletics
Hackworth Named Interim Manager of the Philadelphia Union
6/19/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
June 19, 2012
By Alex Botoman, Wake Forest Media Relations (@SIDeacons)
PHILADELPHIA - John Hackworth, a former player and assistant coach for the Wake Forest men's soccer team, was named interim manager of the Philadelphia Union last week. Hackworth, who served as an assistant coach with the Union since the team's inception in 2010, takes the place of Peter Nowak.
"Coach Hackworth has always been part of this and I have an immense amount of comfort with him leading our guys," Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz said in a press conference. "This is a man of extreme high character, and I can say that because I've known John for 100 years. He has coached at the very highest international level as well as the club level, and as a former player himself, he knows the ropes. I have no doubt that we're going to continue the momentum with the team on the field and just get better as the season goes."
"I'm humbled to be in charge of this organization, of this team, and I take that responsibility very seriously," said Hackworth. "I think there's tons of potential in our locker room and I'm very excited to get to work."
As manager of the Union, Hackworth takes control of a roster that includes former Wake Forest players Brian Carroll and Michael Lahoud.
Hackworth played for coach Walt Chyzowych at Wake Forest in 1991 and 1992 and then served on the coaching staff for the inaugural season of the Wake Forest women's soccer team in 1994 before switching to the Demon Deacon men's soccer staff, where he was an assistant coach under Jay Vidovich from 1995-97.
He left Wake Forest to become the head coach at USF in 1998 and later spent four years as the head coach of the U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team, coaching the squad at the 2005 and 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cups. Before joining the Union, Hackworth was an assistant coach for the senior U.S. Men's National Team.
