Two years after concluding his playing career with the New England Revolution, Jay Heaps, former Bolts player was named coach of the team. Bolts Boys Coaching Director Brian Ainscough knew that Jay Heaps was special when he had him as a player on the Bolts....now he knows Jay will succeed in his new role as Head Coach of the New England Revolution.

It’s in his blood

By Sean Donahue

- November 16, 2011Posted in:

New England Revolution 

Brian Ainscough was right in his assessments about newly named New England Revolution head coach Jay Heaps as a player in the past. Now fans of the Revs will be hoping the Northeastern Huskies men’s soccer coach’s good judgment continues in his beliefs about Heaps as a coach.

Northeastern’s Brian Ainscough, who has turned around his share of struggling college programs, believes Jay Heaps has what it takes to succeed as Revs head coach. (Photo courtesy Northeastern Athletics/Jim Pierce)

Ainscough coached Heaps at the club level when the Massachusetts native played for the FC Greater Boston Bolts. The former Irish youth international knew Heaps had what it takes to be a successful professional player and wasn’t the least bit surprised by the career Heaps had.

"He was special," said Ainscough. "His competitiveness back then was unbelievable. His competitive spirit and his will to win were just amazing."

Heaps took that competitiveness to his 11-year career in Major League Soccer that included an MLS Rookie of the Year award in 1999 and four appearances of the U.S. National Team in 2009. He became etched in the history books as the longest ever tenured player on the Revolution with nine seasons that included four MLS Cup appearances, a U.S. Open Cup Championship and a SuperLiga Championship.

None of that surprised Ainscough. In 2005, Heaps joined Ainscough’s staff at Northeastern as a volunteer assistant coach. It was a role he would serve for two seasons. "He passed along his experiences to the players who had respect for him because he was such a quality player," said Ainscough.

The same qualities Ainscough admired in Heaps as a player came through in his coaching."The qualities that served him as a player and as a coach here were his passion and his competitive nature," said Ainscough. "They’re unmatched when I coached him years ago and when he was here coaching."

Ainscough has coached no shortage of players from the U.S. Soccer Olympic Development Program, Providence College, Bowdoin College, Northeastern and the Bolts, but Heaps competitiveness stood out above the rest.

"It’s unmatched by most players and I think that will serve him as well as a coach as it did as a player," said Ainscough.