San Diego Wave recruits head coach Casey Stoney’s son to tell her she’s been named NWSL Coach of the Year

The San Diego Wave’s first season in the NWSL was a fun one, so the club decided to have a little fun to honor the woman in charge.

Wave head coach Casey Stoney was named NWSL Coach of the Year on Wednesday after a season in which their team finished third in the regular season standings in its first year of existence. The club recruited Stoney’s son Teddy to break the news to her in person during a post-season team meeting.

The award recognizes a highly successful inaugural year for the Wave, who finished 10-6-6 and topped the chart for most of the season. They eventually lost 2-1 to the Portland Thorns in the NWSL semifinals.

By expansion team standards, that’s the best performance you’ll see this side of the Vegas Golden Knights. For reference, the NWSL’s other expansion team that year, Angel City FC, finished in eighth place with 8-5-9.

The Wave had three players who made the NWSL top XI: forward Alex Morgan, defender Naomi Girma and goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, with Morgan winning the Golden Boot with 15 goals. There may be more accolades to come as Morgan and Girma are nominated for NWSL MVP and Girma is also on the shortlist for Defender of the Year and Rookie of the Year.

Stoney joined Wave this season after three years at the helm of Manchester United MFC, where she posted a record of 52-6-19. The winning has evidently continued in the US.