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Croton's New Award Winning Girls Soccer Coach

CROTON-ON-HUDSON-- Jim Cancellaro hasn’t officially started the soccer season yet, but he has scheduled five weeks of scrimmages for the girls varsity soccer team to get to know the players. This is the award-winning professional coach’s first season on the field in Croton, but winning is not his top priority.

“Make them have fun,” he said, “make them feel good, and everything else falls into place.” Cancellaro is technically barred from running real training sessions with the girls until September, so he has scheduled the meets to get to know the girls and watch how they play.

The coaching position at Croton-Harmon High School became available after Kurt Lindner resigned from the coaching position. With no school district volunteer stepping up, the position became available to people from outside the school district.

Cancellaro began coaching 32 years ago when his son, then 7, wanted to try out for a soccer team. “So I brought him to the only people who did soccer,” Cancellaro said, referring to club soccer in Putnam, “and the guy said ‘We need coaches.’ I said ‘I don’t know anything about soccer,’ he said, ‘We’ll teach you.’”

Since then Cancellaro has led two girls soccer teams to state championships, has retired as a volunteer coach and came back as a fulltime coach who is compensated for his time on the field. He has coached all four of his own children, the 7-year-old son is now 39, and the former foreman quotes the great Brazilian soccer player Pelé, when he says “Soccer is the beautiful game.”

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