Len Bilous (born 11 June 1948) is a retired American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player and coach. He played in the American Soccer League and coached for three seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League where he was the 1979–80 MISL Coach of the Year. Born in Germany and raised in Venezuela, Bilous attended

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

, where he played on the men's soccer team from 1967 to 1969. After graduating from Temple, he played for the Delaware Wings in the American Soccer League. In 1972, he joined the

Philadelphia Spartans The Philadelphia Spartans were a soccer team that was a charter member of the non-FIFA sanctioned National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania they played their home games at Temple Stadium in North ...

. Bilous got his coaching start coaching the Princeton University Men's Freshman team in 1973 and the following year was hired to coach the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

Quinnipiac University Quinnipiac University ( ) is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut, United States. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. It also hosts the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. History What became ...

soccer team. In 1978, he was named the head coach of the newly established Cincinnati Kids of the Major Indoor Soccer League. In 1979 He became the head coach of the

Pittsburgh Spirit Pittsburgh Spirit was an indoor soccer team based in Pittsburgh and one of the original six teams that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The Spirit was founded in 1978, suspended operation for the 1980–81 season, then returned ...

and turned the team around after they had started 5–10. He was named the MISL Coach of the Year along with

Pat McBride Patrick McBride (November 13, 1943 – December 11, 2024) was an American soccer midfielder and indoor soccer coach. He earned five cap (sports), caps with the United States men's national soccer team, U.S. national team and is a member of the Na ...

. Although Bilous took the Spirit into the playoffs, the team faced financial difficulties and spent the 1980–81 season on hiatus. In September 1980, Bilous moved to the Philadelphia Fever though was let go with five games remaining in the 1980–81 season.''OUT OF PLAYOFFS, FEVER ROLLS, 11-7'' Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA) - Monday, 9 March 1981 Following the conclusion of his MISL coaching career, Len founded Vision Training Soccer. In 2020 Len Bilous and TJ Kostecky, his business partner in Vision Training Soccer, were inducted into the Ukraine Sports Hall of Fame.

Yearly Awards

MISL Coach of the Year *1979-80 (Jointly held with

) *2020 Ukraine Sports Hall of Fame

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilous, Len American soccer coaches American men's soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Delaware Wings players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches College men's soccer coaches in the United States Philadelphia Spartans players Temple Owls men's soccer players Quinnipiac University people Living people Men's association football players not categorized by position 1948 births 20th-century American sportsmen