This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
09/30/2016 12:00 AMRick Geremia has always loved soccer and, this fall, he’s beginning his first campaign as a varsity assistant and the freshman head coach for girls’ program at Guilford High School.
Rick, a Northford resident who coached for several years at North Branford, attended Southern Connecticut State University when the team won a Division II national championship. Although Rick didn’t make the roster for that squad, he still got to work with Coach Bob Dikranian, who taught Rick a lot and played a major role in his decision to go into coaching.
“I learned so much from him and he’s someone who made me say I wanted to coach,” says Rick. “I came out of there so prepared.”
By his senior year of college, Rick was the assistant coach under Joe Tenzar at Daniel Hand High School in Madison and says the experience “opened my eyes to shoreline soccer.” After graduating, Rick returned to his high school to take on the head coaching position at Amity in Woodbridge.
“The CIAC told me that, at 22, I was the youngest head coach in the state,” says Rick. “I had to grow a beard, so people would look at me like the head coach.”
Now, Rick has been coaching for nearly four decades. After 15 years of coaching both boys’ and girls’ soccer at North Branford High School, Rick stepped down in 2012. One of his former players then asked him to be his assistant coach at Maloney High School in Meriden.
“It was great coming in as his assistant, being his eyes, and helping him get his program jump-started,” says Rick. “He was trying to just get some insight.”
At the same time he stepped down at North Branford, Rick was approached by Josh Krusewski and Joe Guerra of the Guilford Soccer Club (GSC) about coaching opportunities. For the past four years, Rick has coached 10- to 14-year-olds with the GSC.
“Over here they’re so passionate for soccer and soccer is as strong as it ever was,” he says. “Every age group has large numbers of kids in the club. I’m just glad to be asked to be part of it. I was embraced by the community. The kids are great, the parents are great. I just love it.”
Rick has built relationships with families in Guilford through the past four years and now he’s beginning to coach the younger siblings of some of the first players he worked with in the GSC. While success on the scoreboard is always nice, Rick’s favorite part of the job is the feedback he receives.
“Now that I’m getting the younger siblings, having the parents being receptive knowing I’d coached their son or daughter before feels good,” says Rick. “When parents back you up and send you nice emails or texts that their kid went home beaming, that’s what you coach for.”
Last fall, Rick brought his U-14 girls’ team to one of the Guilford girls’ varsity games at Bittner Park, so his athletes could be ball girls and then play at halftime. While there, Rick met Indians’ Head Coach Scott McMahon and, this past summer, McMahon asked Rick if he’d be interested in becoming the girls’ freshman coach. Rick agreed as long as the schedule would still allow him to coach his U-14 team. Because Rick has been coaching in Guilford for a few years, he was already familiar with many of the girls on his freshman team.
“It was such an easy transition because I had known so many people through the soccer club,” says Rick. “It was a natural fit and it’s worked out great.”
There are 18 girls on Rick’s freshman roster and a total of 68 overall in the Guilford girls’ soccer program. The big numbers bode well for Rick and his fellow coaches and, just three weeks into his new position, Rick says he’s enjoying working with McMahon and fellow varsity assistant Fred Franzoni.
“Scott’s a great guy with a great way of coaching,” says Rick. “Being head coach for so many years, he asked how I’d adjust into an assistant role, so I said I know what I expected of my assistants. I bring insight and help develop the freshman team for future players. It was perfect and we meshed right from the beginning.”
Coach McMahon is thrilled to have Rick on board at Guilford and feels confident that Rick’s many years of experience will serve the Indians well.
“Rick has been a great addition to our staff. He has great experience working with youth teams, as well as his many years coaching successful high school teams in North Branford,” says McMahon. “He knows what it takes for the freshmen to improve and develop towards future and near future varsity roles, while also having fun and working as a team. I am excited to have him work with the younger girls, while also preparing our varsity players to be ready for big games and the postseason. It was a chance and serendipity that brought him to our staff and we are lucky to have him.”
Rick, who teaches physical education and health at North Branford High School, likes staying active and says that working with high school students “keeps [me] young.” Rick also coached the T-Birds’ boys’ tennis team for four years and has gained coaching insight from another one of his passions—teaching karate—which he has done for more than 20 years. While he’s been involved with several sports, Rick says that soccer is still at the top of his list.
“Karate and soccer are similar in the discipline needed and that you use your whole body. My martial arts background definitely helps me with coaching of soccer,” says Rick. “I live for soccer, so being at a place where they live for soccer, too, is like Match.com.”