With 27 years of coaching experience under his belt, head varsity soccer coach and special education resource teacher Michael Skordos plans to step down from coaching at the end of this year to spend more time with his family.
Skordos has won four district titles during the 11 years he has been head coach.
“I was able to coach four teams who dug deep and turned it up in the playoffs and won those four titles,” Skordos said. “Whenever we won, as a coach, I took great pride that our team could represent the school.”
Before coming to West, Skordos coached seven years at Alton Marquette, nine years at Hazelwood Central and one year at Parkway Central along with several years coaching Lou Fusz, Panathinaikos and a Catholic Youth Council (CYC) team.
“Coaching for so long has taught me to keep learning. You are always constantly learning from our success but also from our mistakes,” Skordos said. “The game is not the same when I started coaching in 1992 as it is now. Players are working harder. As as a coach, I had to keep up with the game.”
Junior Matt Loaney appreciates all the time and dedication Skordos has put into coaching.
“Skordos gives us a lot of stuff like jerseys and buys us food after games to show how proud he is just because he cares so much,” Loaney said. “It shows his dedication to soccer and that it is his priority and that encourages us to all want to be there and to pick each other up during the harder times.”
Skordos feels that he is very fortunate to have coached the boys and helped influence their lives as soccer players.
“Being the head coach is a big responsibility, however it was an honor to be in charge of the [boys soccer] program,” Skordos said. “I just hope that these players keep soccer in their life in the future.”
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