Football’s a family affair at Leetonia

Matt Altomare took over
as coach for his father, Artie, in the offseason.

By JOHN KOVACH

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

LEETONIA — There is a changing of the family guard within the Leetonia High football program this season.

Matt Altomare is following in the footsteps of his father, Artie Altomare, as head coach of the Bears after serving as an assistant coach under his dad for the past eight years.

And Artie, after serving as Leetonia’s head coach for 28 years, has stepped back to become an assistant coach under his son.

The coaching change appears to be much desired by both father and son, who both are looking for new directions and new worlds to conquer in their careers.

Now, Matt hopes he can fill his father’s shoes and Artie hopes he can help him do so while also focusing more attention on his job as mayor of the village of Leetonia.

Their first test in the reversed roles will come tonight when Leetonia opens the season at Lisbon in an Inter-Tri-County League game at 7:30 that also has become known as the “Spaghetti Bowl” between the two rivals. The winner gets to keep the Spaghetti Bowl for one year.

Eyes wealth of experience

Matt is hoping that he can capitalize on his father’s 28-year coaching experience, and also on the equally-long experience of assistant coaches Fred Bruderly and Nick Mango, who have coached with Artie at Leetonia for almost his entire career.

Artie will be there to advise and support Matt and enjoy his son’s new challenge, but knows that it now is Matt’s ship to sail or sink.

Matt hopes to sail — and far.

“I want to continue to build on the program that dad has built,” said Matt, who also played football for his dad at Leetonia before graduating in 1995. “At times it seems surreal and other times there are tough adjustments I have to make.

“I haven’t coached my first game yet, so I’m not sure what it is going to be like.”

But one thing that Matt knows for sure is that although he is his own man and has his own coaching style, he intends to tap into the some 100 years of coaching experience that Artie, Bruderly and Mango bring to the Bears’ program.

“[Dad] was one of the coaches I learned a lot from. I have learned as many positives from him in a lot of the things we did together,” said Matt, who played football for Malone College for two years before transferring to Youngstown State. “I have my own style [But] you don’t want to mess with the chemistry of the team that you have.

“There is a fine line that you have to know when to cross.”

Coaching teamwork

So Matt will have to remain a bit of a student under his dad, Bruderly and Mango, and become a tactful diplomat as well as a coach as he applies his signature to the team.

“I still will use [dad] as a tool. I want to tap into all his experience,” said Matt, who didn’t play football at YSU but instead became a student coach for two years under Jim Tressel. “There is no price tag you can put on having a coach with that much experience.”

Artie was happy to give Matt his chance in the sun.

“I am tickled to death that he can get that opportunity because for a father and son there is nothing better than to be coaching as a family,” said Artie.

Son is ready to lead

Artie said Matt is ready.

“There are a lot of things that go into coaching. Matt realizes that and he was ready to do that,” said Artie. “Matt has been coming up as an assistant and accepted the responsibility. I gave him more and more responsibility to gear him to the head coaching position.”

Now Artie and his wife, Cheryl, want to bask in their son’s achievement.

“It is going to be fun watching the team grow under his leadership,” said Artie. “I want to see him do good.”

As for Artie, who has been mayor of Leetonia for 10 years, he hopes he can become a better mayor.

“Coaching and being the mayor both have the same problems and the same situations to deal with,” said Artie. “You have to deal with the public problems around the village just like you have to do around the team. Being a football coach has helped me to be a better mayor because you have to deal with [similar] situations and problems.”

kovach@vindy.com