Students Surprise Retiring Tewksbury H.S. Coach
TEWKSBURY (CBS) - A retiring high school teacher and coach got a huge surprise on Monday. Dozens of his former students and players, some dating back three decades, turned out to say thanks.
Steve Levine has coached the Tewksbury Memorial High School soccer team for 35 years. He wasn't that good when he started in 1977. "He didn't know anything about soccer," said Ray Tremlette. "That was the first year we had a soccer team."
Tremlette was the goalie on that first team. He said Levine put his heart and soul into his job and the players responded. "As much as we didn't know about soccer, he brought us to where we thought we could win games, where we thought we could play games and eventually we did," said Tremlette.
But now the longtime coach and physical education teacher is retiring. Levine is leaving with a winning record on the field. His soccer teams have won more than 300 games and his track teams have eight state titles, but it's his work off the field for which he will be remembered the most. "I can honestly say he's a big part of the reason why I'm almost 11 years sober," said Dave Breslin.
Breslin, 30, ran track for Coach Levine. A year-and-a-half after graduating, he knew he had a drinking problem and went to his coach for help. "There are hundreds of kids, thousand of kids Mr. Levine has affected their lives in positive ways," said Breslin. "I'm just one of them."
And that is why dozens of Levine's former players surprised the coach at Monday's game. It was the last home game of the season, so the former players joined the current players on the field to say thanks to the coach for all he's done for them.
Levine watched in amazement as the men walked across the field. "Thirty-five years of these kids letting me come into their lives, letting me make mayhem in their lives," said the coach. "It's just a phenomenal feeling."
Parents cheered from the sidelines. Barbara Greer's three children and seven grandchildren have all had Coach Levine. "He cares about each student," said Greer. "He cares about them academically, he cares about them athletically, but he cares mostly about them as a person."
And after receiving a proclamation from the state and a plaque from the booster club, the coach took the microphone and spoke to his kids, teenagers and middle aged men alike. "I say it all the time, I have no friends," he said. "Because friends come and go. I have a huge second family and I love you all and thank you all very much."
It's apparent, the feeling is mutual.
Reported By: Eileen Curran, WBZ-TV
