CHILL Boss Stepping Aside for 2015 Season
Thunder Bay, ON – Thunder Bay Chill’s only head coach Tony Colistro announced today that he will be stepping away from his duties as Head Coach for the 2015 season. Colistro steps down after 15 consecutive years as the only person to ever coach the Chill.
The veteran boss leaves the bench with an all-time Chill record of 130-94-24 (W-L-T). Colistro leaves with an impressive play-off mark of 13-6-0 taking the team to 7 straight play-off appearances bringing home 6 Heartland Division Titles, 4 Central Conference Championships, 3 National Championship appearances, and winning the title in 2008 in Laredo, Texas.
“Obviously the 2008 Championship team will be one of the most memorable events for me and the organization, but seeing the club grow from the youth to the PDL has also been very satisfying as head coach,” replied Colistro. In 2008 the Thunder Bay Chill became the 1st Canadian team to ever win the North American National Championships when they defeated the home side Laredo Heat in 100 plus temperatures via penalty shots. “Since that victory I think it just installed a sense of confidence to move forward and never look back. Every year we want to win the title now,” commented the Head Coach.
“I think the greatest thing about any coaching is not the wins and losses but the players that come into your life and the impact you have on them. What I will miss the most is the connection with the players,” says the Coach. Colistro has coached over 200 players at the PDL level and states
that many of them have now become true alumni and close friends. “The relationships you grow from coaching is the most remarkable. Not only do my former players help in bringing in top quality players, but they stay in contact and follow the team wherever they are in life. It’s those phone calls that always have the biggest impact and being able to chat about the years they played is worth every minute spent on the field,” states Colistro.
Colistro who is Owner/President of the Club will continue to serve as Technical Director and focus on the growing youth side of the club. “Although our PDL has been successful, we can’t forget about the success of our youth side being in the recreational program as well as our competitive teams. A lot of planning and work goes into these programs and ensuring we provide our kids the best opportunity possible,” replied Colistro. At the present time, the Chill have a full time coaching staff that oversees all the competitive teams and recreational teams. The Chill presently register over 1800 recreational players and 250 competitive players which represent 12 teams that train annually and compete at the local, provincial, and national level.
On the PDL side, Colistro’s role will change as he will move into a management position which will assist the coaches in the recruitment of players and building the team to play on the field. “Tony’s experience and contact with other coaches and players around the world are too valuable to lose and player selection will continue to be integral to our team moving forward,” states, GM, John Marrello. “His decision to leave the bench is to continue to put the club forward and allow him more time to recruit and spend more time with our team stakeholders such as our sponsors which he enjoys doing. The financial viability of the Club is just as important off the field as is the success on the field,” replies Marrello.
When asking Colistro what the future holds for the Chill he states; “Better outdoor playing facilities for all soccer in our community.”
The Chill will begin immediately to search for the Head Coaching position and hope to have someone in place by the end of January in preparation for next season. The Thunder Bay Chill plays in the 64 team Premier Development League (PDL) which is the top developmental men’s league in North America.
