Neal Brady is the head prosecutor for Hillsdale County. Courtesy | Yahoo Sports

The Hillsdale Academy soccer team’s victory over Bronson High School Sept. 7 marked Neal Brady’s 250th win as the head coach at the academy.

Brady said he took an interesting road to the top of the Chargers soccer program.

“The start to my soccer career was unconventional,” Brady said. “In high school I was more interested in other sports: football, baseball, and wrestling were my favorites.” 

His freshman year of college wrought a shoulder injury, 

“I was forced to quit all sports which require contact to the shoulder area,” Brady said. “Soccer, obviously, does not.”

Brady said after he walked onto the team as a freshman, a combination of devotion and athleticism earned him a starting spot. He played all four years at Alma College, mostly picking up what he had missed in high school by watching others.

“YouTube and the internet did not exist when I started,” Brady said. “At first, I learned most of what I knew by watching and reading.” 

Immediately upon completing his undergraduate degree at Alma, Brady enrolled in Cooley Law School, now Western Michigan University Law School. He simultaneously enrolled at Lansing Community College to play soccer. Since it was a club team, NCAA eligibility restrictions did not apply.

Brady’s law diploma sent him to Jackson County before Hillsdale County to clerk for a judge as he studied to pass the bar. After passing the bar, Brady secured a job as an assistant prosecutor from 1990-93. When he moved to Hillsdale County in 1994, he assumed the same role, and in 1996 he became the head prosecutor.

“We work closely with the police department,” Brady said. “It is our responsibility to do justice as we see fit. The police build the cases and, if we see fit, we follow those cases through to conviction.”

After graduating from college and before moving to Hillsdale, Brady seized the opportunity to play in adult club soccer leagues. With the introduction of more readily available sources like the internet, his passion, knowledge, and interest in the game increased.

“I would say my soccer IQ has increased exponentially in the past 20 years; especially in the last fifteen years,” Brady said.

Brady began coaching at Hillsdale Academy in 2000. 

His teams have won eleven conference championships, five Michigan High School Athletic Association District Championships, and fourteen county cup championships, the prize of a tournament held annually for schools in Hillsdale County. He has also been named both district and regional coach of the year by the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association.

According to Nathan Neveau, athletic director at Hillsdale Academy, recognition from the MHSSCA is a testament to Brady’s character.

“He’s always been a great coach. He knows the X’s and the O’s, but I think he’s equally a leader of men,” Neveau said. “The boys benefit from being around his character as much as they benefit from his passion and intellect.”

Sophomore Jake Waldvogel, a goalkeeper for the Hillsdale College club soccer team, played high school soccer under Brady.

“In terms of passion for the game, he’s got it. I think he recognizes that knowledge can’t go all the way,” Waldvogel said. “He runs the team as a process.”

Brady said he enforces the fundamentals. 

“Younger players practice footwork thousands of times over so that, when they mature, it’s second nature and they play freely and smart,” Brady said.

Waldvogel said Brady is a wise man who has a few mantras. 

“One encapsulates his whole philosophy,” Waldvogel said. “Chase perfection, catch excellence.”