Fidgi Haig | Florida Tech | 1987-90 Men’s Soccer Player | 2005-15 Women’s Soccer Coach
Fitzgerald Haig left an everlasting impression on those who knew him simply as “Fidgi.” Born in Haiti, he moved to the United States in 1987 to play soccer for head coach Rick Stottler at Florida Tech. Over his four-year career with the Panthers, he scored 45 goals with 18 assists for 108 career points.
Known as a dynamic, quick player with excellent leaping ability, Fidgi had a tendency to rise to the occasion. He netted game-winning goals in two NCAA Division II South Region Championship Games. He also helped Florida Tech claim its first men’s soccer national title by scoring the game’s first goal in a 3-2 win over California State-Northridge in 1988.
He finished his collegiate career in 1990 as a three-time All-SSC player and a two-time all-region and all-state honoree. He currently ranks fourth in program history in career goals, fifth in career points and ninth in single-season goals with 16, recorded during his freshman season in 1987 to lead the SSC.
Fidgi returned to Florida Tech in 2005 as the head women’s soccer coach, a position he held until he passed away in April 2015. His overall coaching record was 97-56-26 and it included eight winning seasons in nine years.
He guided the Panthers to the program’s first Sunshine State Conference and NCAA Division II South Region Championships, the 2010 NCAA Division II Final Four and four NCAA Division II Tournament appearances.
Before being named Florida Tech’s head women’s soccer coach, he was the head girls soccer coach at Satellite High School for nine seasons, accumulating a 231-18-8 record. He won two state championships in four appearances, five district championships and seven conference championships. He was recognized numerous times as a coach and was honored as the 2005 United States Youth Soccer Adidas National Coach of the Year.