Coach Ben Zizis

Ben Zizis has been the head football coach at Martensdale-St. Marys since May of 2016. In his first season, he led the team to a 3-6 record which was an improvement in which the team was 2-7 in each of the previous four seasons. The 2016 team had the 6th best offense in school history when it comes to total yards from scrimmage and set a team record for the most yards in one game with 565 yards against Griswold.

Prior to coming to Martensdale, Coach Zizis spent one year as the varsity offensive coordinator for Independence High School (IA) and spent five years at Don Bosco (Gilbertville, IA). At Independence he help guide an offense that set 26 school records and made the playoffs for only the 3rd time in school history.

In Coach Zizis's first year at Don Bosco, he was the junior high head coach that finished with a 3-2 record and had a big win over 3A power Union (La Porte, City) 30-0. Following the 2010 season head coach Colby Yoder asked him to join his staff and be the varsity offensive coordinator. In his first year as the offensive coordinator he helped Don Bosco make the playoffs for the first time in school history, in which they lost in the second round in overtime to Postville. The team finished with an 8-3 record.

Following the 2011 season, Don Bosco transitioned down to 8-Player due to declining enrollment. In 2012, Don Bosco won their first District Championship in school history, was the 8-Player State Runner-up, and finished with a 12-1. In 2013, he helped Don Bosco win their 2nd straight District Championship and beat Exira-EHK in the state championship game 18-14 for Don Bosco's first football championship in which the team finished 14-0. For the 2014 team, Coach Zizis had to replace 11 seniors including 2-time state player of the year. The 2014 team won their 3rd straight District Championship and lost in the quarterfinals to eventual state champion Newell-Fonda 36-37. The 2014 team finished with an 11-1.

Coach Zizis believes he has been blessed to have the opportunity to coach with some of the best coaches in the state of Iowa. He also played for and was mentored by four Wisconsin High School Football Hall of Fame coaches (Carey Venne, Jeff Cavanaugh, Clayton Lynde, and Jerry Bowe.)

Coach Zizis is also a special education teacher, head junior high girls track & field coach, and girls varsity assistant coach at Martensdale-St. Marys.

Martensdale-St. Marys Records Under Coach Zizis:

Team Record: 565 total yards in game against Griswold

Individual Game Record (Receiving ): Matt Holt with 168 receiving yards against Grandview Christian

Football Experience:

2000-2004 Cudahy (WI)

Honors: All-Conference, All-Suburban, All-Area

Football Coaching Experience:

2010-2011 Don Bosco (IA) - Junior High Head Coach

2011-2014 Don Bosco (IA) - Assistant Coach/OC

2015 - Independence (IA) - Assistant Coach/OC

2016 - Present - Martensdale-St. Marys (IA) - Head Coach

Conference/District Championship Teams/State Championship Teams:

As a Player:

2001 Woodland Conference Champion (Cudahy)

2001, 2002, 2003 Wisconsin State Playoff Qualifier (Cudahy)

As a Coach:

2012, 2013, 2014 District Champions (Don Bosco)

2011, 2015 Iowa State Playoff Qualifier (Don Bosco & Independence)

2012 Iowa State Playoff Runner-up (Don Bosco)

2013 Iowa State Playoff Champion (Don Bosco)

2014 Iowa State Playoff Quarterfinals (Don Bosco)

All-State Athletes Coached By Coach Zizis:

Has coached 2 State Player of the Year Winners and 7 all-state football players.

Other Coaching Experience:

Independence (Independence, IA) - Boys Track and Field Coach, Varsity Assistant

Central Middle School (Waterloo, IA) - 7th and 8th Grade Girls Head Track and Field Coach

Waterloo West (Waterloo, IA) - Boys Track and Field Coach, Varsity Assistant

Don Bosco (Gilbertville, IA) - 7th and 8th Boys/Girls Head Track and Field Coach, Varsity Assistant

University of Wisconsin-Platteville (Platteville, IA) - Men’s and Women’s Assistant Coach, Sprint and Hurdles

Other Information:

Collegiate Running Career:

2007 WIAC Conference Champion (110 High Hurdles)

2007 NCAA Division III Track and Field Outdoor All-American (110 High Hurdles - 3rd)

2007 NCAA Division III Track and Field Outdoor (4th Place as a Team)

2008 NCAA Division III Track and Field Outdoor Qualifier

4x Letter Winner

Favorite Pre-Game Song:

Foo Fighters - The Pretender & Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

Favorite Quote:

The soul of a man is revealed when he is punched in the face.

Favorite TV Shows:

Scrubs, Last Man Standing, How I Met Your Mother, Rules of Engagement, House of Cards

Hobbies:

Fishing, hunting, DIY Projects, working out,