Dan Fezzuoglio stepped down Friday as varsity baseball coach at Waubonsie Valley, citing personal reasons.
“Faith is very much a part of my life and I felt like maybe God was telling me it was time to focus on my family,” said Fezzuoglio, who has led the Warriors for 14 seasons, compiling a 291-202-2 record.
Fezzouglio’s father passed away in August, shortly before the start of the new school year, after battling complications from diabetes and heart surgery in the past year. His father-in-law, “who is like a father to me” and lives in Pennsylvania, is currently battling serious health issues. And, he and his wife are the parents of a 10-month-old son.
“I wanted to give 100 percent at both ends and that’s pretty hard to do,” Fezzuoglio said. “It was not an easy one to tell the boys but it was time.”
He met with his players Friday morning and delivered the news.
The Warriors are coming off a 26-9-2 season and won 20 or more games nine times during Fezzuoglio’s tenure, which featured three conference titles along with one sectional title and one Elite Eight appearances.
His teams also made it to the Final Four twice in the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Summer State Tournament.
“Those will be tough shoes to fill,” Waubonsie Valley athletic director Chris Neibch said. “Dan runs a great program but with the personal issues I can understand his decision. We’ll post the position in the next week and begin the process of looking for his successor.”
Three of Fezzuoglio’s former players are currently involved with coaching in the program.
