Jusinos rule the roost as Briarcliffe coaches
Briarcliffe coaches Ed and Lisa Jusino. Credit: Handout
Lisa Jusino, the newly minted softball coach at Briarcliffe, likens the athletic teams at the college to a family. Only, it's more than just a metaphor.
While Jusino will take over the softball reins in the spring, her father, Ed, will be calling the shots as Briarcliffe's new baseball coach. Ed had coached the softball team since 2006 with Lisa as one of his assistant coaches.
"I think it's a testament to how hard both of us have worked and how much he's taught me since childhood," Lisa said. "Who can say they've ever coached on the college level with a parent? It's an awesome thing to be able to say that."
But this isn't the first time the pair worked together, of course. An All-Conference player at East Meadow High School, Lisa was also a standout for her travel ball team, which Ed coached. In 1999 the pair won the Fast Nationals, a national travel tournament.
"It can be difficult at times, obviously," said Lisa, who now lives in West Islip. "You have to balance out the difference between 'coach' and 'dad.' But he's an amazing person. He's probably the best man I've met in my life."
Lisa was named team captain her first year playing softball for Adelphi and, after graduation, she settled into an assistant coaching role at the school. But when the chance to work with Ed at Briarcliffe came, she jumped at it.
After five years coaching together, which included an appearance in the 2010 USCAA Softball National Championships, there was a vacancy for baseball head coach and the line of succession only seemed to work out too well.
"One of the things that was being said was, 'Hey Ed would be great, because then LJ could get the softball job,' " Ed said. "We're both energetic, we're both hard working. And that the kids were happy it happened made it even better."
Ed has no doubts about Lisa's ability to step into the role of head coach. "She knows the game, and she knows how to help explain the game to players," said Ed, who still resides in East Meadow. "She's able to communicate very well."
It must run in the family.
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