It all begins in August with about 50 or so aspiring soccer players, most of Hispanic descent, originating from all different countries all over the globe. It’s almost like a United Nations convention, with all the nations represented, rather than an Emerson High School soccer practice.
In the center of it all is a little beloved man who isn’t of Hispanic descent. He hails from Italy, from a little village called Avellino outside of Naples. But for the last quarter century, Angelo Avella has been able to bring students from all the nations together, the Ecuadorians, Brazilians, Panamanians, Venezuelans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans and too many others to mention, and has made them become Emerson Bulldogs, taking on the mentality of a bulldog, all having one goal.
Winning.
“I’ve been able to learn a few words over the years,” Avella admits. “But I get my point across when it needs to be heard.”
To the kids of many nations, Avella is more than a coach. He’s the beloved leader. He’s the father figure.
“Well, to some of the kids, I’m ‘Coach’,” Avella said. “And to others, I’m Mr. A. But others call me ‘Tio,’ which is uncle. I don’t know why. I guess I’m like their uncle.”
To the opponents of the Emerson soccer team, Avella is like an assassin, because every year, his teams perform at the highest level, winning championship after championship.
Last Sunday, Avella’s team won the HCIAA Coviello Division championship once again, manhandling North Bergen, 6-1, to give the Bulldogs their second straight league title and an amazing fifth in seven years.
The victory in the title game capped an amazing 20-1 season for the Bulldogs, only losing to West Orange in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group IV semifinals, 2-1, by penalty kicks.
A break here or there and the Bulldogs would have been playing for a state championship to go along side their county crown.
Avella doesn’t bemoan the fact.
“It just wasn’t meant to be,” Avella said. “We played very well against a good team. We hit the post a few times and then it went to penalty kicks and that’s like flipping a coin. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
Many teams might have been too devastated to try to come back and play after losing a heartbreaker like the state playoff game, but Avella gave them an inspirational message that obviously hit home.
“We had a couple of days of practice to get ready,” Avella said. “I told them that people only remember what happens last. If you win the last game, then they will remember you as a winner.”
And in this case, a champion, a repeat champion at that.
“We talked about that if we lost, we would have won 19 games, then lost two and even thought we were 19-2, we would have nothing tangible to show for it,” Avella said. “I’m always concerned. I was concerned about a possible letdown after losing the close game. Both times we played North Bergen during the season, they were close games. We won, 2-1, both times. So I was concerned. But the kids rallied together and played very well.”
They took a 2-0 lead in the first half, then let the best player in the HCIAA, senior forward Mauricio Castillo, to simply take over the game like he did so many other times in the past.
Castillo scored two goals in the second half, earning the game’s Most Valuable Player honor. It’s only fitting that the MVP of the entire season should come up big in the biggest game.
Avella was asked where Castillo fits among the Emerson players who preceded him.
“He’s right up there with the best,” Avella said. “Any time I ever asked him to do anything, he did it. If I asked him to move to the midfield to help with the defense, Mauricio did it. He was willing to play defense. He’s almost an equal to [Miguel] Greenberg [the all-time leading Emerson goal scorer who graduated in 1998]. He’s going to be very difficult to replace.”
In fact, Avella believes that this year’s team ranks right with Greenberg’s 1997 team that posted a 22-1-2 record, going to the NJSIAA Group III semifinals and sharing the HCIAA title with St. Peter’s Prep.
“We had a pretty good team in 1997, but this was also a good team,” Avella said. “I always tell the kids that the success you have is always proportionate to the amount of work you put in. This is all about the hard work of the kids.”
It also took a lot of dedication as well. Because Union City has only one field, Roosevelt Stadium, for two high schools to use for all of their outdoor sports, the Emerson soccer team has to practice whenever it finds field time, usually after football practice is over.
“When I talk to people in Bergen County, they are baffled that we don’t have our own field,” Avella said. “I really trust the kids will come to practice. We squeeze in the times we can. I understand that some of the kids do have jobs and also have to go to work. If you understand them, then they’ll do anything for you. But yes, it is more remarkable that we’re able to do what we do.”
Another key to the Bulldogs’ success was the unselfishness of the players. In fact, Avella was amazed with the way the players were willing to give up their regular positions for the good of the team.
“When I met with the kids in the summer, you wonder how far you can take this group,” Avella said. “I knew we had some talented players, but I hadn’t the slightest idea that we would win 20 games. I knew we had to make changes, so I went to the kids and made some suggestions.”
He asked Daniel Mezzina to move to the midfield from forward, where Mezzina played last year. No problem. Mezzina became a solid midfielder this season. Avella approached Eduardo Fernandez, a midfielder a year ago, to try his hand at playing defender this season. Anything for “Tio.” Fernandez became a solid defender.
And in the biggest stroke of genius, Avella thought that last year’s All-County goalkeeper Carlos Juarez could become a striker. All Juarez did was become a standout goal scorer, tallying 24 goals – the same total reached by superstar Castillo.
“It’s all about the cooperation of the kids,” Avella said. “Some years, you get a kid who says that he’s a center forward and he wants to remain at center forward, so you say, ‘OK, take a seat on the bench.’ But these kids were all willing to do whatever we said because they wanted to play. Everything just fell perfectly into place.”
Avella credited the work of his two assistant coaches, Tony Villalobos and Vito Gigante, both of whom played for Avella, for the success of the team as well.
“Tony played for me in the 1980s and he’s been with me as an assistant for the last 12 years,” Avella said. “Vito played for me in the 1990s and has done a good job. That’s the one thing I have. They can speak to the kids. I’m fortunate to always have cooperation.”
Avella said that it’s hard to distinguish between the 1997 championship team and this year’s bunch.
“This year will sit right next to the ’97 team,” Avella said. “The kids made this one special.”
Avella, who retired as a science teacher at Emerson High School last year after 35 years, still wants to coach.
“I like being around the kids,” Avella said. “They keep me going, keep me fresh and keep me busy. Plus, it makes my wife happy that I coach, because it keeps me out of the house. But I like coaching. I want to keep going. This was a good ride.”
As long as the little Italian the Hispanic kids call “Tio” remains in charge, chances are that there will be other good rides in the future as well.