Norwich — Robert Briones, the boys' soccer coach at Norwich Free Academy for the past 22 seasons, has been named Coach of the Year by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association.

Briones is among 26 coaches, including Montville wrestling coach Gary Wilcox, who will be honored during the CHSCA's 55th annual recognition dinner on May 9 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.

Briones has a 258-127-26 record and has guided the Wildcats to seven Eastern Connecticut Conference titles and a pair of Class LL state semifinal appearances. He led NFA to back-to-back perfect regular seasons in 2005 and 2006, and has coached 55 ECC all-stars, 22 all-state players and 22 All-New England players.

"Robert is truly deserving of this honor," NFA interim athletic director Roy Wentworth said in a release, "and we are fortunate to have such a highly committed coach on our staff. Robert's commitment to our students, both on and off the field, is exceptional."

Briones, who was born in Chile, is a school counselor at NFA. He holds a bachelor's degree in Latin American Studies and master's in Arts in Educational Psychology with a concentration in school counseling from UConn.