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SALISBURY STAR • JANUARY 2016
Sports
Salisbury University men’s soccer coach Gerry DiBartolo congratulates an opposing player during a recent game. DiBartolo completed his 34th and final season at the helm of the Sea Gulls. Submitted photo
Salisbury University spotlight In the world of sports, change occurs often
By Diamond Holton Players transition from different teams or roles are switched up, allowing players to try out different positions. For coaches, this change can be accepting jobs other than being a coach or even stepping down and allowing someone else to be their successor. For head coach Gerry DiBartolo of men’s soccer, he has decided to hang up the cleats and stop coaching altogether. He has chosen to retire. Although DiBartolo has made this decision, he will continue to serve out as interim Athletic Director, a position he accepted in the middle of this year following Michael Vienna’s resignation. With the fall season coming to a close, DiBartolo has 34 years under his belt as a head coach at Salisbury University, notching over 400 wins as the seventeenth winningest coach in Division III history. When making the decision to retire,
Gerry DiBartolo
DiBartolo said it was not something that just came to him overnight. It was something he had been thinking about for a couple of years. “The longer you’re a coach, I said I would keep coaching as long as there were two things present,” he said. “One was I felt that I was able to connect to the kids and second I felt that I was enjoying myself, and those two things are still present, but it just got to a time where it was time to let somebody else have their chance.” Another reason why he is choosing to retire is because the recruiting side of soccer had become difficult to deal with due to time commitment and followups. He felt it just took up so much time, and for any coach that has family members, it comes to that moment when you’re away from them a lot due to being on the road, watching kids, and attending games and tournaments. Handling the roles of a coach and an
athletic director could be quite difficult at the same time, but DiBartolo said that had no factor in his stepping down as a coach. He is used to serving dual positions, such as when he first arrived at Salisbury University; he got the head coaching job while he was already a faculty member at the Perdue School of Business. While coaching, DiBartolo also completed his PhD on a part-time basis. For many years during the season, when practice ended at 5 p.m. he would head to Washington, D.C. and have a class at 8 p.m. He would then drive back that night and teach class the next morning, so confidence is what kept him afloat when handling multiple positions. As he reflects back on his time as a coach, he said his interaction with his players is what stood out to him the most. DiBartolo said that’s the greatest thing about being a coach. “We try to recruit people of character and good young men, so getting to see them grow into fine citizens, getting to know their parents and their friends and seeing their kids when they come back for alumni games with their wives or etc., that’s the greatest part of being a coach,” he said. In DiBartolo’s career, there have been a lot of great moments, so choosing one was not easy for him. The first one he mentioned was the year 2004 when he and the men’s soccer team made it to the Final Four and had a really good chance at making it to the championship game. Other moments he mentioned were winning his first conference championship in 1999 and making a run to the quarterfinals and also reaching 400 wins this season. His grandest memory was watching his two young boys grow up with the team over the years as they came to practices and attended games. Playing soccer since he was a fourth grader, he feels it has been a great part of his life and has done wonderful things for him. He’s always looking to see what he can give back to the game, but coaching again does not seem to be in the near future. “Any way I can be of service, I’ll try and do my part,” DiBartolo said. “Will I ever coach again? I don’t know. Maybe if my young sons have children and their grandpop wants to be the coach, I might do that again, but I don’t see myself being a college coach again.” For older players who have had some time under the tutelage of DiBartolo, they see him as a father figure. Senior goalkeeper Drew Staedeli said it has helped him to play that role as
Gerry DiBartolo
well as a senior player for the incoming freshman and younger players. “When I came in as a freshman, there were guys that came to me as father figures in practice,” he said. “It’s just kind of doing it in return, and I really want to push them to be the best player that they can be for this program. This program means so much to me that I want to make it better and keep it at the level that it’s at.” When finding out the news of DiBartolo retiring, Staedeli said he was definitely shocked. Knowing his coach had been here for so long and done so much, it’s hard for him to realize that he will be leaving and finishing his term as head coach. “Seeing it all come to an end, it was really shocking,” he said. “He was a little emotional about it as well and we all understand exactly where he’s coming from. Doing something for such a long time, it’s hard to give it up.” As DiBartolo departs, he has hopes for the current players and ones to come. He mentions some of the privileges of playing at Salisbury University. “I hope that guys who play here understand the privilege of being a college soccer player and the privilege of being a college soccer player at a great school like Salisbury University,” DiBartolo said. “They should try to leave the program in better shape than when they entered it, and they should be lifetime supporters of the program.” DiBartolo said his plans are to watch games next year, but he doesn’t want to have the feeling that he’ll be hovering over the new coach. He said he will be there as a supporter, to help and to also encourage.