In high school, the most anticipated events of the year are the football games. Friday night lights and the Saturday games under the sun always attract students of all ages, in and out of high school, to come and cheer on the home team. Students pick themes and colors to deck the student section and scream chants while on the edge of their seats. 

Coach Caruso has been head coach since 2009, and started coaching at Steinert in 2002. Caruso didn’t become a teacher at Steinert until 2003, having worked in the attendance office prior to becoming a teacher. Caruso played football in high school and college, but post college, he couldn’t see a future in the sport as a player. 

“After my last college game, I knew I wasn’t done with the sport, and I still wanted to be involved with football.” Having a basis in coaching, however, made his transition to teaching much easier. He describes teaching as an extension of coaching. “There’s a lot you learn about teaching from coaching. It’s an extension of the classroom. There’s a lot you can draw on for the classroom, and vice versa.” Caruso coached both wrestling and football before stepping down as head coach of wrestling after it became too much. 

When asked what prompted him to step down, Caruso said that it had everything to do with his children and his family. “It was something I had thought about coming into the season–I knew this was going to be my last one.” He said that football takes a lot of time away from his family, and it was an uneven balance between the two. “I felt like I was missing too much of my children’s lives. Football is a sport that takes a lot of time and dedication to coach. I felt like it wouldn’t be right for me to shortchange my own kids, and also shortchange the football program.” Caruso explains how family comes first, and that his children are at a time in their lives where they are involved in many after-school activities that he was missing out on because of the time he had to dedicate to football. 

It’s one thing to step down from a beloved sport, but Caruso also has to say goodbye to a team of boys that have been with him for years. The difference between his students and his players is the ability to get closer to a team of boys for hours a week, as opposed to a large group of students for 45 minutes a day. “I get to see my players in a different light on the field, and they get to see me in a different light.” 

Having close relationships with his players made the step down much more difficult. 

“It’s not easy–it’s very hard. Especially with the last few years, the pandemic, and the loss of a player brought us together.” Caruso refers to the team as a “family setting”, which makes the leave much more difficult to stomach. Caruso hopes to continue to support the football program as much as he can, as the program allowed him to flourish as both a coach and a teacher. “Coaching football has been a blessing for me. I’ve been able to be the head coach at Steinert for 15 years, and coaching for 21 years, and now it’s time for someone else to enjoy it.” 

Caruso encourages his players to buy into the system and put their weight behind the next head coach. “For the new coach, adapt to your players. Be empathetic and understand your players. It’s their football team.”