Eight years ago, Herb Gainey inherited a successful program from his mentor and one of the most successful coaches in the country, Eric Wagner (now at Swarthmore College).  During that time, Gainey has become the winningest coach in school history with 67 career wins.  Every season, his troops arguably play one of the toughest schedules in the nation, while finishing in the top five of the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) each of those years.

The Mechanicsville, Md. native also serves as an Assistant Director of Athletics & Recreation at the College.

Gainey is currently the head girls coach for the Maryland Olympic Development Program (ODP).  He was recognized as both the 2006 US Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) Girls Coach of the Year and the Maryland State Youth Soccer Association (MSYSA) Donald Minnegan Girls Coach of the Year after claiming back-to-back national championships in 2005 (U-18 Girls) and 2006 (U-16 Girls).  The titles were the first national titles won by any Maryland ODP team.  Gainey has coached both past and current women's U.S. National Team players.  He has also won two bronze metals with the '92 girls team.

Gainey has over 30 years of experience developing soccer players at various levels, including youth, high school, and select club.  He will retire from youth soccer in 2009 to focus more on the Seahawks and pursue new interests in his life.

He was named the 2002 CAC Coach of the Year after guiding St. Mary's to its best-ever season with a 15-5 mark and a berth in the CAC Semifinals.  At one point during the season, the Hawks won nine straight.  Gainey became the first-ever St. Mary's men's soccer coach to win such an honor, while coaching the conference player of the year in Alun Oliver.

In 2003, he took the Seahawks back to the CAC Semifinals with a 13-4 log after starting the season with five consecutive wins.  Gainey led SMCM to their first-ever national ranking (No. 24) in 2004.

St. Mary's returned to the CAC Semifinals in 2005, finishing with a 12-7-1 mark.  For the fourth time under Gainey, the Hawks advanced to the conference semifinals in 2006.  That same year, SMCM posted three one-goal losses against Top 10 squads.

For the past two seasons, the Seahawks have been thwarted in the CAC quarterfinals by Wesley College, while Gainey has mentored eight All-CAC picks.  In 2007, he also coached the CAC Rookie of the Year in Kevin Seeger. 

Gainey holds US Soccer Federation (USSF), National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National and NSCAA Advanced National soccer diplomas.  He has also studied Dutch, Czech, Brazilian and English coaching styles.

GAINEY'S YEAR-BY-YEAR COACHING RECORD
Year	Overall	Conference	Postseason
2002	15-5-0	4-3-0	CAC Semifinals
2003	13-4-0	4-3-0	CAC Semifinals
2004	7-8-3	3-4-0	CAC First Round
2005	12-7-1	4-2-1	CAC Semifinals
2006	7-10-2	5-2-1	CAC Semifinals
2007	8-9-1	5-3-0	CAC First Round
2008	5-10-4	3-3-2	CAC First Round
Totals	67-53-11	28-20-4

Gainey also serves as a USSF trainer teaching state-level courses; as the coaching director for St. Mary's Youth Soccer; and as the director of the Seahawk Soccer Camps.

He graduated from Charles County Community College with an A.A. in business programming.  Gainey then earned a B.S. in information technology management from the University of Maryland-University College in 1994.

He is married to the former Ruth Ann Anderson, who continues to support his passion for coaching soccer.  The couple lives in Mechanicsville and are the parents of four boys: Brad, Chris, Andy, and David.