{"id":11844,"date":"2022-02-07T09:41:07","date_gmt":"2022-02-07T14:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=11844"},"modified":"2022-02-07T10:22:25","modified_gmt":"2022-02-07T15:22:25","slug":"full-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=11844","title":{"rendered":"Full time"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joe Russo says goodbye to the program he helped create.<\/h2>\n

When Joe Russo ’73, MEd ’82 was named head coach of the women\u2019s soccer team at Trenton State College in 1989, a reporter from The Signal asked him if he felt pressure trying to build a team amid a boom in women\u2019s athletic programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I feel no pressure at all,\u201d Russo said. \u201cThe program has to have its own identity and then work its way up to be as successful as the others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, after 32 years, 669 games, and as one of TCNJ\u2019s most decorated coaches, Russo will step aside and let someone else lead the program that he firmly established.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a remarkable run,\u201d says Russo, who accumulated more than 60,000 minutes on the sidelines as head coach. \u201cYou keep grinding and looking forward to the next day but you never really embrace what you\u2019re doing until it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Russo\u2019s career numbers are impressive, highlighted by three national championships, but those stats come from his dedication and commitment to positioning TCNJ women\u2019s soccer as a perennial powerhouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cRarely in this business do you get to start a program from scratch \u2014 to create the culture you think would be very successful,\u201d Russo says. \u201cIt was the opportunity of a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

But perhaps his biggest accomplishment is the relationships he\u2019s formed with his players. \u201cHe\u2019s someone I look up to,\u201d says Amelia Curtis \u201922, a captain from this year\u2019s squad. \u201cHe motivates his players to not only work hard but to care for each other like friends and not just teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for Russo? \u201cSomeplace where it\u2019s warm,\u201d he says. He and his wife are planning to move to Florida, but rest assured, you\u2019ll still see him in the crowd at Lions Stadium from time to time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout a doubt,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s near and dear to my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Picture: Carlos J. Morales\/Altasky Media<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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