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STEVE LEEFran Reidy shaped the team, but now he will focus on family and his job as the school's athletic director, which he has held since 1999.
ST. LEO - Fran Reidy, Saint Leo University athletic director and men's soccer coach, took off one of his hats Tuesday.
Reidy, 43, resigned as coach, having held dual roles since replacing former athletic director Ted Owens in 1999.
"Part of me is really going to miss it," said Reidy, 140-134-16 in 16 seasons as soccer coach.
A national search will be conducted with March 1 as a deadline to hire a replacement. Reidy said Saint Leo men's soccer assistant Greg Vallee and Saint Leo women's soccer coach Tony Paris, recently named Sunshine Athletic Conference women's soccer coach of the year, are candidates.
A two-time conference coach of the year, Reidy said stepping down as coach would allow him to spend time with his family and focus more on mentoring the school's coaches and fundraising.
"I came to the realization that I couldn't be a great father, I couldn't be a great coach and I couldn't be a great A.D.," Reidy said. "It's impossible."
Reidy, who lives in Land O'Lakes with his wife, Debbie, and children, Evan, 11, and Victoria, 6, will not give up coaching altogether. He helps coach Evan's competitive team in the Land O'Lakes-based Central Pasco United Soccer Association.
"It's hard to be a role model for your kids when you're not there," Reidy said.
Gulf High School boys soccer coach Sam Koleduk, a member of both the Sunshine State Conference and Saint Leo halls of fame, played for Reidy at Saint Leo during the 1990-94 seasons. Koleduk, along with former Saint Leo players Jon Akin and Geoff Chisolm, who also played for Reidy, were recently named to the SSC Silver Anniversary team.
"He's the best coach I ever played for," said Koleduk, the school's all-time leading scorer with 77 goals and 187 points. "He knew a lot about the game and was caring and helped the players out. It's sad to see him go."
Being athletic director and men's soccer coach is not the first time Reidy tackled dual roles. His tenures as Gaither High School's boys soccer team (1984-90) and Saint Leo's coach since 1987 overlapped.
In Reidy's six years at Gaither, the Cowboys made a state final (1989, losing 2-1 to Miami Sunset), won a sectional title and captured three district and two regional championships.
The Saint Leo men's soccer team was founded in 1968 and had just three winning seasons before Reidy joined the coaching staff. He is the school's fourth head coach and the only one with a winning record.
"He kind of built (the Saint Leo program) into what it is today," Koleduk said.