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SIMONE SAYS
Canfield coach guides boys, girls teams to Division II district championships
By Kevin Connelly
CANFIELD
Many people live busy lives.
And, then there’s Phil Simone.
Since 2008, he has been the head soccer coach for the boys and girls varsity teams at Canfield High School. In any given week during the season, he could have five or six games to coach, plus practice for whichever team is not playing that day.
Add that to a 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. hospital job, and you get one busy schedule.
Simone has experienced success with each team in the past, but never at the same time — until this year.
Last Thursday, the girls team defeated Lakeview 6-1 to win its third consecutive district championship. Two days later, the boys team won its district final match 2-0, also over Lakeview.
Nobody knows for sure if this is what Canfield athletic director Greg Cooper envisioned when he put Simone in charge of both teams, but success can be contagious.
“When I talked to [Cooper] about it, he said if they couldn’t find a qualified candidate to take [the girls program] over we’d try and do both for a while,” Simone said. “And here we are, six [seasons] later, still doing both.”
Simone has been at Canfield since 1994, when he began as a boys junior varsity coach. He took over the varsity team in 2001 and has won three district titles — the last one coming in 2006.
The girls have had the more recent success, advancing to the regional semifinal two years ago and to the regional final last year. Each time, they were eliminated by Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit, who’s playing in Division I this year.
“The preparation starts preseason with both teams,” Simone said. “The girls have been at this level for the last couple years and so we’ve talked a lot about this time of year with them.
“With the boys, we haven’t gone as heavy because they have not been as strong, but we’ve still built them up to where they can be.”
Because of the simultaneous success, Simone said this season has been slightly different when it comes to game preparation. If an overlap in the schedules occurs for practice and away games, he relies on the help of others.
“It’s big,” he said of the role his assistants play. “If I didn’t have somebody I could trust in that position, this would never work.”
The boys assistant is 2007 Canfield graduate Kyle Reese, who was a member of the Cardinals ‘06 district championship team. Aleesha Denmeade handles the girls team for Simone.
Then there’s Mike Thomas, who’s official title is goalie coach, but he’ll be the first to tell you his job description goes way beyond that. He graduated from Canfield in 2011 and is the one assistant who works with both teams.
“Time is the biggest thing,” said Thomas, who’s also a full-time student at Youngstown State University. “Being able to key in on different things and transition from the boys and girls can be really time consuming.”
He said it almost becomes like another full-time job, but with aspirations to one-day coach at a higher level he wouldn’t trade the experience for the anything.
Simone is enjoying the ride..
“I guess if it becomes too much, then at that point I make a decision, but right now I’m still enjoying it,” he said. “I guess when I stop having fun, that’s when it’s time to hang it up.”