Ian Main, 47, a sales representative for a railroad products company who formed Bartlett’s traveling soccer league, died Friday, Feb. 1, of a heart attack in his home
“He was the best soccer coach. He had the ability to get these kids to do something that was phenomenal,” said his wife, Barbara. “He made friends everywhere. He had a real impact on this community.”
Mr. Main was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and moved with his family to Skokie when he was age 9. He graduated from Niles East High School and from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, from which he received a bachelor’s degree in education.
Mr. Main went to work for Lawrence Hall School for Boys in Chicago and began teaching soccer to students who had never heard of the sport. In one season, the boys went on to finish second in a state tournament, his wife said.
With a young family to support, Mr. Main left teaching and went to work for Rustoleum Corp. The family settled in Bartlett in 1982, and Mr. Main went to work in the Wheaton office of Atlantic Track & Turnout Co., a rail products firm. He was a sales representative there.
Once his children became involved in soccer, Mr. Main resumed coaching, first for the Bartlett Park District, then for traveling teams, including the Bartlett Highlanders.
He was not satisfied with the organization of many of the traveling leagues so he and a friend formed a league five years ago, the Bartlett Travel Club, which became the umbrella group for a score of travel teams in Bartlett. Mr. Main was league president.
When his older son joined the Bartlett High School soccer team, Mr. Main became involved in that team as well, his wife said.
“People all over Bartlett know him as `Coach Ian.’ That’s what everyone called him,” she said.
Other survivors include a daughter, Heather; two sons, Andrew and Ian; his parents, Samuel and Jean; and a brother, Chris.
Services will begin at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday in Countryside Funeral Home, 950 S. Bartlett Rd., Bartlett. A mass will follow at 10 a.m. in the Church of the Holy Spirit, 1451 Bode Rd., Schaumburg.
