Last summer, I decided to take advantage of a rare opportunity. Jim Luzzi is the first and, to date, the only head-coach for the varsity soccer team, so I posed a series of questions to him regarding his coaching experience, then posted a blog with all but his response to the question of what were his most memorable teams and seasons..
Since I knew that he was considering stepping down as head coach, it seemed reasonable to hold off on how he answered that question. Good thing, too. His 2013 team, which was his last year at the helm, achieved something that none of the previous 43 teams had. They came in 2nd in the state. Needless to say, that moved this year’s team to among the top of that list.
In Jim’s original response to the question, he listed:
-the first game of his first season (1970) in which we were ranked 4th in the region after defeating Quigley South, but that only lasted for a week.
-In 1973, we had our first All-State player, Pat Velarde.
-1981 brought our first of 7 state regional championships .
-1982-team posted 19 wins, … the most single season wins until 2012…
-in 1998, we won the Super-Sectional to advance to the “Elite-eight”
-2012 team’s record of 20 victories.
At the end of the 2013 season, I asked Jim to “up-date” his list, to wit he wrote, “How could I not include the 2013 team? At the end of the 2012 season, I decided to coach one more year. I thought that the 2013 team could win a regional, and possibly, a sectional title. To advance to the State Tournament Championship game was my coaching dream.” At the end of his career as head-coach, Jim had posted a record of 484 wins, 410 losses and 94 ties. As a former coach myself, I can attest to the fact that just coaching 988 games is a daunting accomplishment.
Jim was careful to point out that “memorable” should not be misinterpreted to mean “favorite”…maybe yes; maybe no…and teams who were not mentioned should NOT interpreted that as a lack of respect, admiration or appreciation on his part. Of course, victories and championships are a sign of validation of a program, but there are other elements, such as cooperation, leadership and “coach-ability” that come into play when a coach recalls each season and team.
In his final remarks regarding his career, Jim said, ”In going through the Awards Night programs, I’ve been lucky to have outstanding young men on my teams. I’ve maintained for a long time that I would continue to coach as long as the players made it enjoyable, and that has been true for 44 years. I’m also lucky to have had assistants like John Chandler, Kevin Rigney, and in the past few years, Ryan Kearns and Rob Stassen.”
Coach Luzzi added that his leaving coaching now has nothing to do with it not being “enjoyable”. It’s just time. THANK YOU AND BLESS YOU, JIM!
