ONA -- After 30 years as a soccer coach, the 2008 season will be the last for Cabell Midland High School boys coach Jack DeFazio.
DeFazio was named as the replacement for Cabell Midland athletic director Steve Lovejoy in May after Lovejoy announced his retirement, effective at the end of the school year. DeFazio will exit the coaching ranks to concentrate on his new duties at the school.
"The good news is that it is somewhat my choice," said DeFazio, who was honored in 2004 as The Lowell Cade Sportsperson of the Year by The Herald-Dispatch. "As you get older and you look at guys getting into their twilight, some people hang on just to hang on. I think this transition is going to be a little bit easier.
"The hardest thing for me is leaving the kids and that's why I do what I do. The good news is that I'll still be involved so it's a neat thing."
DeFazio's summer agenda includes trying to learn the nuances that go with his new position so that in the fall when he is juggling athletic director duties and two games a week on the soccer field, his life is manageable.
High energy is one of DeFazio's defining qualities and such can also be found in his teams, but with several sports on the agenda for fall, he doesn't want it to become too fast for even himself.
"It's going to be busy, and I'm going to need some help," DeFazio said. "I'm hoping not to fly by the seat of my pants."
Lovejoy will still be assisting with the Cabell Midland athletic boosters and has offered to help DeFazio when needed -- an offer that DeFazio assured he will utilize.
DeFazio also said the knowledge and professionalism of Cabell Midland's coaches to govern their own sports helps make an athletic director's job much easier.
"We are so lucky at Midland with the boosters and all the great coaches and athletes we have. It's a great opportunity," DeFazio said.
Having been a coach for so long, DeFazio also knows what coaches need from an athletic director and he hopes to help them continue to keep Cabell Midland among the best high school programs in the state.
He also outlined several goals, including making each of the Knights' athletic programs one that the community -- not just parents -- take part in. He also spoke on the prospects of a multi-purpose artificial surface at Cabell Midland, a school known for its run-ins with flooding.
"It would be nice if we could turf the whole facility. That is going to be one of (the goals)," DeFazio said. "But what we would gain by having the facility, we would have a nightmare of trying to juggle schedules for six or seven sports. There are dilemmas no matter what you do."
DeFazio said he would welcome the nightmare if it could happen, but that is just one of several things in his future.
However, for now?
"I'm just trying to figure out what in all I'm supposed to do," DeFazio said. "I've gone to all the sporting events before, but instead of just showing up for a 7:30 game, I need to learn what happens the three or four hours before that game.
"I have a lot of learning to do. A lot of learning."
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