Carrozzo: Groomed to Coach : He Discovered His Lifeâs Ambition at an Early Age
Guy Carrozzoâs calling came early. He knew when he grew up he wanted to be the man on the sidelines who ran the show on the field, the man the fans, the players and the students called âCoach.â
He knew the position well because he spent his childhood watching his uncle, who was an assistant at Notre Dame High School of Riverside.
His first experience came years later as a senior at Fountain Valley. A select group of graduating players were chosen by Coach Bruce Pickford to be assistants for two weeks during spring football.
âAll I did was chase balls,â Carrozzo said. âBut thatâs when I knew I wanted to become a coach someday.â
In his case, someday came last March when Carrozzo was named to replace Karl Gaytan as Ocean View Highâs football coach. He had spent seven years at Fountain Valley, advancing from a freshman coach to Coach Mike Milnerâs most trusted assistant.
Carrozzoâs years at Fountain Valley were spent preparing for the time he would take over a program. Milner was a willing participant in the launching of his career.
Carrozzo attended clinics with Milner at the University of Washington and the University of Pittsburgh. He spent countless hours discussing the gameâs strategy, theories and psychology.
Milner would pose hypothetical situations and ask Carrozzo how he would deal with them. He even helped prepare him for the Ocean View position with a mock job interview.
âIt was a long time coming,â Milner said. âThe last couple of years here, you could tell just by looking into Guyâs eyes that it was important for him to become a head coach.â
Carrozzo, 31, was an all-Sunset League center at Fountain Valley. He didnât play college football, but returned to Fountain Valley as a volunteer coach for the district freshman team when he was taking courses at UC Irvine.
Milner was impressed with Carrozzoâs dedication and organization. He hired Carrozzo as the schoolâs sophomore coach in 1979.
âWhen I hired Guy, I thought it was important for him to be in charge of something and learn how to structure his own staff,â Milner said. âHe needed that before he joined the varsity staff.â
Carrozzoâs first team went 10-0. Among the star players were quarterback Matt Stevens, running back Rod Emery and wide receiver Joel Seay. Stevens now starts at UCLA and Emery is a backup at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
âThat was a fun group,â Carrozzo said. âWe worked hard and enjoyed a lot of success. That year re-enforced my desire to become a varsity coach.â
Milner elevated Carrozzo to the varsity staff the next season. He coached the defensive ends and was the kicking game coordinator. Eventually, he did everything from writing the teamâs defensive playbook and charting the opponentsâ offense to ordering the office supplies.
âHe did things for me that no one else would do,â Milner said. âIf the football office needed paper clips, he took care of it.â
Milner said Carrozzo is so organized that he plans his week on 5 by 7 cards, highlighted by different colors in degree of importance.
âIf you want to have dinner with him on Saturday night, you had better call on Monday and be sure youâre the right color on the card,â Milner said.
Carrozzo arrived at Ocean View with a list of needs to begin rebuilding a program that had gone 4-16 in two seasons. The first order of business was forming a staff.
âThey say when you go to buy a home, the three most important things to remember is âlocation, location, location,â â Carrozzo said. âIn football, itâs âstaff, staff, staff.â I was allowed to bring in one new assistant (Bob Bell). I thought it was important to have someone who understood me and my methods already.â
Carrozzoâs methods seem to be working. The Seahawks, who have enjoyed only one winning season since the school opened in 1978, are 2-2. Milner attended Ocean Viewâs opening game and saw a vastly improved team.
âThey were disciplined, organized and had a good concept both offensively and defensively,â Milner said. âI think what youâll see under Guy is that Ocean View kids will take the field prepared to play.â
Carrozzo admitted he was nervous on the night of the opener.
âNobody can be fully prepared to become a head coach,â he said. âYou think youâre ready, but the job is even bigger than you anticipated. Until you do it, youâll never know what itâs like. In some instances, youâre learning as you go.â
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