An unceremonious end

Joe Cuozzo won more lacrosse games than any coach in the nation during his 37 seasons at Ward Melville High School. That wasn't enough to save his job.

When Cuozzo, 67, retired as a teacher in June, he planned to keep coaching the boys team. But Three Village School District policy says that coaching positions are prioritized for active teachers, athletic director Don Webster said; Cuozzo was out when physical education teacher Mike Hoppey, who played for and coached with Cuozzo, applied for the position.

When asked whether he felt betrayed, Cuozzo paused for several seconds before answering.

"I could say a lot of things, but I am not going to," said Cuozzo, who said he believed Webster was supportive. "I have a lot of emotions about what is going on. It is not a good situation for anybody. Am I upset? Absolutely."

Hoppey, who was head coach at Mount Sinai the past two seasons, said he weighed his loyalty to Cuozzo against his desire to head the program. Hoppey chose desire.

"This is something I really wanted to do for a long time," Hoppey, 49, said. "When the job opened up, I thought this was the time to go for it. This was difficult because I knew Cuozzo wanted to coach. I just didn't think he was going to retire within the time frame I needed."

Rival lacrosse coaches were angered by the news. Many have written to Webster to support Cuozzo. "If this is the end of his career, I think they need to go about it in a way that celebrates what the guy has done," said Bob Macaluso, coach at Suffolk Division I rival Northport High. "It could negatively affect his legacy and reputation."

Webster said Cuozzo would have retained his position if no one had applied for it.

"In no shape or form did Joe do something wrong," Webster said. "The hard part for Joe is letting go. We are transitioning."

Cuozzo, who had been chairman of health and physical education, improved his career record to 682-69 after directing Ward Melville to an 18-1 record and the Suffolk Class A championship game last season where the Patriots lost to West Islip. Since starting the varsity program in 1969, he coached his teams to 22 Suffolk and 15 Long Island titles and won seven state championships.

Cuozzo's teams qualified for the playoffs 36 of his 37 seasons. He coached 49 high school All-Americans, and hundreds of his players competed in college.

One of them was Hoppey. A 1974 Ward Melville graduate who went on to play at SUNY-Cortland, Hoppey returned to coach under Cuozzo for 22 seasons before becoming Mount Sinai's varsity coach in 2004 and 2005. Mount Sinai went to the Suffolk Class C final both years.

Ward Melville, which won the Class A state title in 2000, lost in the Suffolk semifinals each year from 2001 to 2004. Criticism surfaced because the program is held to the highest expectations. Hoppey was among several applicants for Cuozzo's position.

Hoppey said Cuozzo will be his defensive coordinator, but Cuozzo is hoping to retain his head position. He said he would like to reach 700 career wins; he is 18 away. Hoppey's appointment requires school board approval, which could come as soon as November for a season that starts in March.

School board president William F. Connors Jr. declined to comment, saying he was unaware of the situation.

When asked whetherf Cuozzo could keep his job, Webster said, "No, Mike clearly will be the head coach."