Flying Under the Radar

Blog #4 (Only 1072 to go!) Flying Under the Radar       Most people with even a passing familiarity with Saint Ignatius will know of the iconic teachers of the past...Fr. Grant, Dr. Malliard, Frank Raispis, Pat O'Mara...but there are many great teachers and coaches who "fly under the radar". Jim Luzzi is such a person, and I believe that he is just fine with that. An outstanding math teacher, he served many years as chairman of the math department, and, if anything, he's an even better soccer coach.
      First, a little background. Jim had graduated from Ignatius in 1965, and came back to teach math in the fall of 1969. His background in athletics was minimal, but he wanted to be involved in some program. That fall and winter, he helped me with the sophomore basketball team.
      How soccer came to Saint Ignatius and how Jim became its first coach is a story for a different time, but during the spring of 1970, he learned as much as he could about the sport, and that fall, the school fielded its first soccer team with Jim at the head. The first high school soccer game that Jim ever saw was the one that he coached. We beat Quigley South in that game, winning on an over-time shoot out (or whatever it's called). The previous year, Quigley South had finished sixth in the state, so the next day, the Sun-Times had Saint Ignatius ranked 6th in the state. That ranking didn't last long, but it was fun while it lasted.
      But I digress. This blog is about Jim Luzzi, and all that he has brought to Saint Ignatius. This season, Jim completed his 41st year as the only varsity soccer coach Saint Ignatius has ever had. In that time:
        His teams have won over 400 games,
        he has served as the president of the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches' Assn.,
        he has been named "Person of the Year" by that organization,
        and he has earned membership to both the IHSSCA and the Chicago Catholic League's Hall-of-         Fame.
       What a list of credits!

      In addition to being an outstanding coach and running the math department, Jim has headed the Financial Aid Committee, and, for several years, ran the school book store, all this while being a loving husband and father, and a good friend. (I suspect he also operates a butter churner with his left leg while he's resting.) Pat O'Mara once told me that Jim was one of the most organized men that he's ever known. That's like Devin Hester saying someone else is really quick.
      Each year, I ask Jim if this is his last year. After all, he wasn't a child when he started teaching and coaching. Forty-one years; do the math. Each year, he says that he might have retired, but he's got this great group of underclassmen coming up, and he wants to stay until they graduate.
      God bless you, Jim. Keep going. I think that I heard that there are some super pre-schoolers on the horizon. Just hang in there a little while longer.