John Colosimo named '3A Coach of the Year'

Intermountain Catholic

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John Colosimo, Juan Diego Catholic High School vice principal and head football coach, puts away the football equipment for the season. He is sad to see the seniors graduate, as he is every year. But he knows there is a great group of underclassmen coming up and they will be right there battling for the state title again next year. IC photo by Christine Young

DRAPER — John Colosimo, Juan Diego Catholic High School vice principal and head football coach, was named the 3A Coach of the Year, by the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA). He was presented with the Distinguished Service Award Nov. 1, at a luncheon at Willow Creek Country Club.

"John Colosimo is well respected by his peers and his teams for running a quality program with integrity," said Dean Fowles, Delta High School principal and former football coach. Fowles has watched Colosimo progress through the years. "The team is very hard hitting, but Colosimo does not let his boys throw cheap shots. They are respectful and well behaved.

"Colosimo is a quiet and humble man. He is not in the forefront taking credit for everything," said Fowles. "He does not have to worry about wins and losses because the way he runs his program, the wins and losses take care of themselves. He is more concerned about the well-being of the team than he is about the wins and losses, and as a result he is always successful."

"I want to make sure every guy has a great experience doing what he is doing," said Colosimo.

Colosimo has more than 30 years coaching experience in Utah’s Catholic schools. He graduated from Judge Memorial Catholic High School in 1974, and started attending the University of Utah, Before he graduated from the University in 1979, he became the head sophomore football coach at Judge Memorial in 1976. From 1977 to 1984, Colosimo was the Judge varsity football defensive coordinator, and the head junior varsity football coach. From 1979 to 1984, he became the varsity football special teams coordinator. He also served as head coach for the girls basketball team from 1981 to 1984, and was head junior varsity boys basketball coach from 1986 to 1992.

Colosimo served as Judge Memorial’s head football coach from 1985 until 1996. He started teaching math in 1979 before moving to the physical education department in 1991. Colosimo was the athletic director from 1997 to 1998.

Under Colosimo’s direction, Judge Memorial won the Region X Championship in 1985, 1986, 1993, and 1994. They placed second in the state finals in 1993.

Colosimo had just finished his Master’s Degree in Art and Teaching from the University of Portland when he was offered the position as the vice principal of the new Juan Diego Catholic High School in 1998. Dr. Gabriel Colosimo was the principal. The new high school opened in the fall of 1999 at the Skaggs Catholic Center in Draper.

"I have great memories from Judge Memorial," said Colosimo. There are a lot of good people there who have been instrumental in helping me understand what it means to be a good teacher and a Catholic school administrator. I knew this opportunity to move into an administrative position probably would not come along for a long time."

While at Juan Diego, Colosimo has also served as the head football coach. He has led several Juan Diego Soaring Eagle teams to win more than 100 games. His career highlights include participation as head coach in four state championship games, in which his teams have earned state titles in 2002 and 2004 in the Class 2A division. Juan Diego came in second place in the state finals in 2003. In 2005 Juan Diego entered the 3A class division.

Under Colosimo’s leadership, Juan Diego’s football team has won the Region IX Championship Titles consecutively from 2003 to 2007. Colosimo was named Sportman’s High School Coach of the Year in 2001, the UHSAA 2A Coach of the Year in 2002, and National Federation of High Schools Coach of the Year in 2004.

"I have been involved in both the girls and boys basketball programs and the boys football program for a number of years," said Colosimo. "I have learned a lot from the head coaches at Judge Memorial including Gil Cordova, Frank Le’ Toile, and James Yerkovich, Judge Memorial vice principal and head basketball coach. I owe a lot to those guys who took me under their wings. Cordova first offered me a position to be a coach there in 1976. I learned a lot from him.

"I was fortunate to work under a couple of very good coaches in football and I learned a lot about coaching from Yerkovich," said Colosimo.

When Colosimo began coaching in 1999, the school only had freshmen and sophomores. At that time he started the tradition of meeting in the school’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Grotto following both home and away games. The team, cheerleaders, students, and family members always gather to pray a decade of the rosary in thanksgiving for the opportunity to be together and healthy enough to play the game.

"We prayed even after we had a heartbreaking loss this year, said Colosimo. "We always try to remind the kids how fortunate they are to be young and healthy because there are a lot of kids who do not have this opportunity. We remind them of their families’ sacrifice to send them to Juan Diego, and what a great gift they have been given by Sam Skaggs, who donated the property and the money to build the beautiful school and the football stadium. I want them to be able to appreciate all of this, and I think they do.

"I am the head football coach, but I am also the vice principal, said Colosimo. "I have been in the Catholic school system for all of my life. My primary mission for the school is to keep tuition affordable. We struggle with looking for options all the time. For the rich, it is no problem. For low income families, we have tuition assistance and financial aid. It is the middle class, working family with four or five students who has trouble affording the tuition. I don’t know what the answer is, but Catholic schools in our diocese provide a great education for our students.