Last month, the Buffalo community lost a wonderful family man and soccer coach in Hector Vasquez.
Hector (above left) helped run our tryouts since head coach Brendan Murphy took over in 2013, and trained the FC Buffalo reserve team in 2013. He was a positive man with great wit whose eyes lit up on the soccer field, and Sept. 23 was official decreed “Hector R. Vasquez Day” in the City of Buffalo by Mayor Byron Brown (scroll down for photo).
Read more about Hector’s incredible career, from Guatemala to Holy Angels to Daemen, here.
Coach Murphy and Hector’s relationship extended far beyond the playing field. Here’s Murph:
“I consider myself one of the lucky ones because I can say that I had the honor of playing for Hector Vasquez. He was much more than a coach to so many young soccer players. I respect him deeply as a person for everything he did for the game and the soccer community at a time when opportunities to play and watch the beautiful game were sparse.
“Hector effectively transferred the passion he had for this game to an entire generation of kids across Western New York at all levels of soccer. Hector was a coach who was able to integrate his family into the fabric of his career. When you play for Hector, you become a part of his family. Liz, Joey and Bianca are all amazing people who will continue to carry on Hector’s incredible legacy for years to come. Hector, you will be missed.”
FC Buffalo mourns Hector, and remembers him with genuine fondness and indelible respect. We send our love to his wife Liz, who helped our reserve team out of the goodness of her heart, and children.
