PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Timbers today announced their Alumni Ambassadors for 2012. Returning for a second season are former Timbers players and coaches John Bain, Jim Brazeau, Bernie Fagan, Mick Hoban, Lee Morrison and Scot Thompson. Joining as the club’s seventh ambassador this year is former Timbers goalkeeper Adin Brown.
As Alumni Ambassadors, the group of seven Timbers alumni will represent the team at various community appearances, events and speaking engagements. Additionally, the ambassadors will occasionally assist with Timbers youth soccer camps and clinics.
“We are thrilled to be able to expand our alumni ambassador program in 2012,” said Timbers Chief Operating Officer Mike Golub. “These past players and coaches have already done so much for the sport and for the community here in Portland and we are fortunate to have them continue to represent the club.”
As community ambassador, Thompson serves as the primary liaison between the Timbers community relations department and other alumni ambassadors. Thompson played seven seasons for the Timbers from 2004-10, finishing his career in Portland as the Timbers’ USL career leader in games (156) and minutes played (12,994). In 2010, his final season playing for the Timbers, Thompson served in a similar role as the team’s community ambassador, and was awarded the Timbers Community Player of the Year that same season.
Bain played five seasons for the Timbers from 1978-82, finishing as the NASL club’s all-time leading scorer with 45 goals and 55 assists in 148 games. Following his playing career, he coached the Mountain View High School boys team to two Washington state championships and coached the Portland Pride of the Continental Indoor Soccer League before joining the Westside Timbers youth soccer club, which he has coached and operated since 1995.
Brazeau served as the USL Timbers’ goalkeeper coach for eight seasons (2001-05, 2007-09) after playing collegiately under noted coach Jimmy Conway at Pacific University and Oregon State University. Brazeau played professionally for six seasons, with the Seattle Storm outdoor team, and Washington Warthogs and Portland Pride of indoor soccer. Since 2000, Brazeau has been at the helm of Pacific’s men’s soccer program and served double duty for four seasons, also coaching the Pacific women’s team from 2002-05. In 2010, the former Northwest Conference Coach of the Year led the Boxers to their first NWC championship in over a decade.
Brown first joined the Timbers in 2010 and was a member of the club’s inaugural MLS season in 2011. Picked third overall in the 2000 MLS SuperDraft by the Colorado Rapids, Brown proceeded to play six years in MLS, including stints with clubs Tampa Bay Mutiny and New England Revolution, as well as playing for Norway’s Aalesund FK from 2005-09. Brown helped lead the Revolution to the MLS Cup final in 2002, and was awarded his teams’ Defender of the Year three times in his MLS career. Brown played collegiately for William & Mary, where he earned All-America honors twice during his career.
Fagan played three seasons as a defender with the NASL Timbers from 1980-82 and has spent the last 28 years coaching in the area, including time at the collegiate level with Warner Pacific College and Portland State University. In addition, he is the founder and head coach of Oregon Soccer Academy, a successful youth soccer club that fields select and premier teams. Fagan was also heavily involved in Special Olympics for more than a decade, serving as the organization’s Soccer Director from 1991-2004.
Hoban played for the Timbers for four seasons from 1975-78 while also serving as the NASL club’s community relations manager. After retiring in 1978, the former Aston Villa midfielder was hired by Blue Ribbon Sports, which eventually became Nike, Inc., and became the company’s first-ever soccer employee. He joined Umbro USA as the Vice President of Soccer Promotions from 1988-95. In 2000, Hoban helped form Soccer Solutions, LLC, a soccer consulting firm, and was a partner there for 10 years before leaving to assume his current role as an independent soccer marketing consultant.
Morrison played five seasons as a defender with the Timbers from 2003-07, ranking fifth on the USL team’s career list with 113 games. He also played professionally for the Dallas Burn and Kansas City Wizards of MLS. A first-round pick of Dallas in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft, Morrison played four years at Stanford University, where he earned a degree in international relations and was a three-time All-American. Morrison has been coaching with Bridlemile Soccer for the past six years and currently works in commercial real estate for Cushman & Wakefield.
