Pennsylvania says goodbye to coaching legend George Todt

PHILADELPHIA — George Todt sat there with a sheepish grin at the banquet with a pair of crutches next to his chair in 1988. He wasn't about to show any frailty, that there was a hint of a crack in his impregnable armor, so he limped up gnashing his teeth with each step to accept the National Coach of the Year award — nothing was going to deter him.

Rarely anything ever did.

Because Todt himself is a rarity. After 44 years, Todt said goodbye to a magnificent career as the long-time, and only soccer coach in the history of Archbishop Ryan (Philadelphia, Pa.). The legend with the finely coiffed jet-black hair to rival Mel Kiper's pompadour announced his retirement last week to a career that spanned six decades, covering the late-1960s, into the early 2010s.

No one does anything today for 44 years. Certainly not coaching at the high school level.



Yet Todt did. In that time, he compiled an amazing 649-162-117 record, achieving the most victories in Pennsylvania state history and fifth overall in the United States, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. During one span, covering 1984-88, Todt's teams went on a 61-game unbeaten streak.

His teams captured 13 Philadelphia Catholic League titles, the last in 2003, and he leaves a countless number of indelible memories for the players he coached.

Born and raised in gritty Northeast Philly, Todt could be brash, demanding, hard-edged, but no one could ever question his passion for soccer and his contribution to the growth of the sport in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

There will never be another one like him.

Since 1976, he's worn three hats, as French teacher, Ryan's soccer coach and the school's athletic director. His devotion is as old-fashioned as his coaching style.

In 1988, his team was ranked among the top five in the country, and Todt was named National High School Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. He had severely sprained his ankle working out with his players, but it was something Todt, now 64, wasn't about to miss.

He started the Ryan program in 1969, a year after the school had just opened and right after he graduated St. Joseph's University, a 21-year old not much older than his players. He's been a fixture ever since.



"There were two priests that ran the program and they found out I was a soccer coach and they asked me to take over; I was just 21 years old," recalled Todt, who unfortunately lost his first wife to breast cancer. "I knew I wanted to be a teacher, and coaching was an extension of being an athlete and a player. I was fortunate. Philadelphia is an ethnic area — I played for the German-Hungarian Club. I was able to be in an area and I learned the game the proper way. It's something I've always stressed to my players.

"I was also fortunate enough to come up through the Catholic League with the guidance of coaches like St. Joe's Jim Murray, La Salle's Bob Peffle, Joe Krantz at Archbishop Wood, and North Catholic's Tom Smith and then Gerry Brindisi. Those are guys I respected and enjoyed playing against. We all had a chance to shape the Catholic League and make it what it is today. You can say we raised the bar for each other. I wouldn't be where I am without them."

Different points of view

He also wouldn't have won without cultivating and shaping the players he's had through the years. Todt, and he'll admit this himself, was not an easy coach to play for. He got the best out of his players because he insisted on their best.

"That's funny, because the main thing I heard about coach Todt before coming here is that he yells a lot," said Ryan team captain Kevin Galm, who transferred into Ryan as a junior as was a two-year starter for the Raiders. "The parents and players have different views of coach Todt.

"Most parents only see him yelling on the sidelines during games, but to me, that's because he cares. He has that passion and his players really know him, we see different sides of him, the softer sides he doesn't like to show too much. I know this, he loves his players. He's very old-school and he's very demanding. I'm a better player after playing for him. He made me work harder."



Andy Stackhouse, a 1981 Ryan graduate, Todt's first high school All-American, and Ryan Soccer Hall of Fame inductee, recently used a Todt catchphrase coaching himself—"Jesus, Mary and Ralph!" It's equivalent to legendary late UCLA basketball coach John Wooden's, "Goodness gracious sakes alive!"

Stackhouse said Todt had a unique way of knowing whose buttons to push and when to push them. Todt could also discern where a player's greatest strengths were. Stackhouse, for example, was a forward, but Todt moved him back to midfield. Stackhouse didn't like it at first, but grew to love it. He blossomed and went to become a high school all-American and played in college.

"What George did for me was make me a more complete player," said Stackhouse, who coached not only him but his six brothers. "George let me be creative; he let me float. He knew back then that was the best place for me on the field.

"There are things I use to this day that George taught me; George had this saying, Jesus, Mary and Ralph he used. I said that coaching one of my teams recently. George also has a funny side not many see. We used to tease him that he had an egg-shaped head. One game, he yelled at us in private on the team bus. He was so excited that he jumped up and hit his head on the roof. One kid in the back of the bus said, ‘I hope it didn't crack' loud enough that everyone heard it. We thought George was going to explode. He laughed, then we all laughed and went out and won."

Ryan lost in the Philadelphia Catholic League semifinals to Peffle's La Salle team, 4-2, on penalty kicks on October 27. It was an emotional ending for Todt. The old-school coach with the steely veneer broke down with his players, and was able to reflect on an incredible and unapproachable body of work.

"It's been a pleasure to be a part of the growth of soccer and coaching these kids," Todt said. "I made more mistakes than anybody. We all have moments that we regret and we love. I know we're always judged by wins and losses, but you have only really success, because these kids worked with me. You don't become a great coach without great players — I've been blessed with great players. I'm in the pop-pop phase of my life now with eight grandchildren. I know I'm leaving with a smile on my face, happy and blessed to spend one life at one school in one league. I got so much more out of it than I gave."



There is a legion of former and current soccer players and coaches throughout Pennsylvania that would debate that.

Joe Santoliquito is a frequent MaxPreps contributor and Philadelphia-based writer. He may be reached at jsantoliquito@yahoo.com