West Hartford’s War-Chief Sports Council presented a ‘Coach of the Year’ plaque to a Conard and Hall coach.

Conard’s Rob Cersosimo, aka ‘Coach C’ (center) receives his Coach of the Year plaque from War-Chief Sports Council Co-President Dennis Swanton (left) and Athletic Director Jason Siegal. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

By Ronni Newton

Two long-time coaches from West Hartford’s high schools are the recipients of the inaugural “Coach of the Year” honors from the War-Chief Sports Council.

The combined Hall and Conard athletic booster club announced the winners, who were chosen by the coaches at each high school, at the organization’s 2016 Tailgate event on Nov. 12.

On Dec. 15, War-Chief Co-President Dennis Swanton, who represents Conard High School, joined Athletic Director Jason Siegal to present a plaque and gift certificate to a local restaurant to veteran Conard coach Rob Cersosimo.

Cersosimo, known to most as “Coach C,” retired as Conard’s head football coach after the Conard vs. Hall Mayor’s Cup game in 2013 and turned the reins over to his son Matt, but continues to serve as an assistant. As head coach, he was one of the winningest football coaches in Connecticut history, with a lifetime record 186-118-3, and was inducted into the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2012 and in 2013 received the National Football Foundation’s “Distinguished American” Award.

Swanton said Cersosimo’s patriotism, an important element of the National Football Foundation award, is one of the things that stands out to him the most.

Swanton said that last fall he was filming a soccer game for the War-Chief Sports Council at Conard’s McKee Stadium – named for Cersosimo’s father-in-law and predecessor as head coach. As soon as the National Anthem began to play, players on the football team, practicing on an adjacent field, immediately stopped what they were doing, removed their helmets, and silently turned to face the flag.

He approached Matt Cersosimo to praise him for the team’s response, and his simple response was, “That’s my dad.”

“I’ve done that for 20 years,” Rob Cersosimo said. After the first time he blew his whistle and had the team stop practice during the National Anthem, he spoke to the kids after practice about why he thinks it’s important to show that level of respect.

“I told the kids how fortunate we are – the people who give us our freedom have to be honored,” Coach C said. His own father was a World War II veteran who earned a Purple Heart after losing his leg. “He was a great role model and I think we owe it to our service men and women who serve our country.”

“That just caps off everything that you’ve done,” Swanton told Coach C as he handed him the plaque.

“It’s the kids. I just keep the ship going in the right direction,” the ever-modest Cersosimo said.

Coach C was also the head coach of Conard’s wrestling team (1986-88; 1996-2001) and the boys tennis team (1973-76; 1981-87; 1990-91). In 2011, he teamed up with his daughter-in-law Megan, the head girls lacrosse coach, to coach the freshman girls lacrosse team.

War-Chief Sports Council Co-President Paul McConnell and Siegal presented Hall’s “Coach of the Year” plaque and gift certificate several weeks ago to another veteran West Hartford coach who is perhaps best known for giving everyone a chance.

Hall English teacher and tennis coach Jim Solomon continues to rack up winning records – including several league and state championships – despite the “no-cut” policy he instituted in the late 1990s.

That no-cut policy earned Solomon the United States Tennis Association’s prestigious “Starfish Award” for 2011. In 2010 he was named Boy’s High School Coach of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association. 

Solomon is also a member of the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and has won multiple regional coaching awards.

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Hall tennis coach Jim Solomon (center) receives his Coach of the Year plaque from War-Chief Sports Council Co-President Paul McConnell (left) and Athletic Director Jason Siegal. Courtesy photo