Ron Eden, legendary Brentwood boys soccer coach, dies at 72
Brentwood head coach Ron Eden talks with his team at halftime during a boys soccer game against Ward Melville on September 24, 2024. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Brentwood's Ron Eden was one of the most decorated varsity boys soccer coaches in Long Island history. He also left a significant impact on nearly everyone in his life.
“He loved very deeply. He was very protective of those that he loved,” said his wife, Jeanette Eden. “He was so dedicated to his family, but also so dedicated to soccer. It was his second home.”
Eden died Sunday evening after battling prostate cancer, according to his wife. He was 72.
Eden took over Brentwood’s boys soccer program in 1996 and built it into one of the most competitive public school programs on Long Island. During Eden's tenure, Brentwood won 17 league titles, 11 Suffolk championships, 10 Long Island championships and state titles in 2008, 2010, 2019 and 2023. Brentwood finished as a state finalist three other times.
But it was the relationships Eden built with players, coaches and families alike that have lasted even longer than the planter boxes he built for gardening with his wife, growing flowers all around the house.
“There’s just been nonstop people who have said, ‘If it wasn’t for coach Eden, I wouldn’t have graduated high school. If it wasn’t for coach Eden, I wouldn’t have played my senior year,’ ” Jeanette said. “Because they wanted to work, and they felt that they needed to work. And he would say, ‘You’re going to work the rest of your life. You’re never going to get this back.’ ”
Joel Iglesias joined the varsity team when he was 15 in 2006, later joining the coaching staff in 2011 and is now assistant coach.
“He’s been in my life for half my life,” Iglesias said. “We had a great relationship . . . The biggest thing with Coach, if you needed anything you could call him. I could call him at 3 in the morning, 6 in the morning, any time and he would pick up.”
Iglesias said Eden would lead a group prayer before every game, asking to keep everybody on both teams healthy.
“He always told us, since I was a senior up until this past year, that you’re going to meet your best friends on this field,” Iglesias said. “And for me, it’s true, because the guys I graduated with, I’m going to their weddings, their baby showers, their housewarmings.
"He wanted these guys to be good fathers, husbands, brothers and good people in society. And I think that’s what we’re going to miss the most.”
Section XI executive director Tom Combs said he first met Eden 25 years ago when Combs was the head football coach at Harborfields High School and remembers Eden as "a class act and a good friend."
“I’ve always admired and respected him for what he accomplished at Brentwood,” Combs said. “How he’d take a group of raw talent and always make it into a team game. It's something everybody could learn from.”
Eden had a 484-70-32 record as a coach, second only to Robert Muir of Mattituck for most wins (509) among Suffolk head coaches in Long Island history. He also was an assistant coach at Brentwood for 16 seasons, going 182-83-23. Eden led Brentwood to a 17-1-1 record this past fall and finished as county finalists.
Few high school soccer rivalries reach the level of Commack vs. Brentwood, with the two sides often clashing deep in the playoffs. Commack coach Dave Moran described playing Eden’s Brentwood as every team’s “World Cup final,” even if it was just in the regular season. He said Eden “created an atmosphere which demands excellence.”
“I’m lucky enough to say that Ron has always been a mentor, a friend, a staunch competitor and my biggest and best rival,” Moran said. “In the coaching realm, I don’t know if there’s a better compliment than any of that.”
Eden was picked as United Soccer Coaches’ National High School Coach of the Year in 2023 as Brentwood completed a 22-0 season. Jeanette Eden was on the team bus ride home from the state championship that year and recalled how emotional Ron got during the ride home.
“He stood up and he tried to express to them how much they meant to him. And he couldn’t even get the words out,” Jeanette said. “He was really choked up . . . Next to me, [Brentwood soccer] was his entire life.”
Eden also was the New York State Coach of the Year in 2005, 2013 and 2023. He was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.
Eden played professional soccer from 1976 to 1981 with the New York Apollo and New York United of the American Soccer League.
Eden was born on May 12, 1954, in Bay Shore. He graduated from Brentwood High School and worked as a contractor until a spine injury sidelined him.
When Eden was 26 and playing professional soccer, he moved into a house down the street from Jeanette. They later married in 1981. They had twin daughters, Rebecca and Rachel, who are now 37.
Jeanette said Eden was cremated. A GoFundMe for Eden’s family had already exceeded $20,000 within 24 hours. She said a celebration of his life is expected to occur, but there is no date set. Brentwood’s athletics department announced the news Sunday evening on social media.
“For many years, Coach Eden dedicated himself to the Brentwood community, leaving a lasting impact on generations of student-athletes, colleagues, and families,” the post’s caption read. “Through his passion for the game, unwavering commitment to his players, and devotion to Brentwood, he built a legacy that will be remembered for years to come.”
Michael Sicoli covers high school sports for Newsday. He graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and left with a master’s degree in sports journalism in 2023.
