Alumni honor former coach at Roslyn homecoming

Before the Roslyn Bulldogs hit the field for their homecoming game on Saturday, the Roslyn High School Alumni Association honored former teacher and coach Charlie Trepcos, 75, for his decades of serving the community.

Marc Zucker, 43, is one of Trepcos’ former players and a member of the Class of 1990. He got the ball rolling by contacting classmates about celebrating Trepcos’ career.

Before long, other former players were calling younger and older players so they could be part of the event.

“Trepcos was not the typical teacher, and it wasn’t a 9-to-5 job for him,” Zucker said of his former coach, who would take whole teams on trips to see former Roslyn players compete in college as a way of showing what they could aspire to. “...He was the type of person that made an impact for all of us.”

Trepcos said: “When they called to let me know I was shocked and surprised. It’s great seeing former students here and catching up with them.”

Trepcos, a social studies teacher, came to Roslyn High School in 1965, became an assistant coach in 1969 and then head football coach in 1974, Zucker said.

After retiring in 1997, Trepcos served as an assistant coach at Hewlett and Manhasset, then moved to Florida in 2004.

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“When I come up here to visit family, I always make sure to pass by the school,” he said of Roslyn. “I like to see how it is doing.”

As Trepcos and former students mingled, they recalled memories of practices and games, winning and losing.

“I often thought of the many people that crossed my path,” Trepcos said about his students. “We have a common bond that binds us all together and lifelong relationships were formed.”