Jay Martin, Ohio Wesleyan Men's Soccer Head Coach, was inducted into the Ohio Soccer Hall of Fame last Saturday evening at Columbus Crew Stadium.
Martin is highly regarded among his peers, and has done a tremendous job at helping grow the game of soccer at all levels.
"It is a great honor, but I only did my job," Martin said. "When I look at the other inductees and see who is not in the Hall of Fame, it is humbling."
Martin was impressed by the amount of support he received at the game.
"I would like to thank all the OWU people who were there," Martin said. "The OWU support at the game was tremendous."
Martin is currently in his 34th season as the head coach of OWU's Men Soccer Team. His 571 career wins rank him 4th all-time among coaches through all divisions. He also has the most wins of any active Division III coach.
Martin began his coaching career at OWU in 1976, coaching both the Men's Soccer and Lacrosse Teams. He quickly earned respect for OWU across the nation by leading his team to an unheard of 18 straight playoff appearances between 1978 and 1995. By the end of the 1980s, OWU had the most wins of any men's collegiate soccer team in the nation, regardless of division.
Over his 34 years as head coach, he has won 21 conference championships, led OWU to 31 playoff appearances, and had a Division III leading 51 wins in the playoffs. He has made it to the National Semi-Final seven times and the National Championship three times. His teams finished runner-up twice in those games and won the championship once in 1998.
Martin is only the 7th men's soccer coach to reach 500 wins. In fact, he reached this milestone in only his 29th season, the youngest coach to do so. Over this span, Martin has won 81 percent of his games.
Congratulations to Jay for all of his accomplishments and achievements in the game.
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