Meet Coach Marchese
Meet and Greet at the Courtside Lounge
Perry Marchese, Head Coach, Saint Mary's Huskies Football 
Perry Marchese and Athletics Director Steve Sarty share a laugh during the Feb. 23 gathering 
The Husky Dog mascot jumped into a photo with the new head coach and President Colin Dodds. |
More than 150 people turned out at the Courtside Lounge Thursday to welcome Perry Marchese, the new head coach for Huskies Football.
Marchese played four seasons with the Huskies and graduated from Saint Mary's with an MBA in 1997 before serving as an Assistant Coach in the CFL with both Toronto and Hamilton.
He has been an offensive coordinator in the CIS at Bishop's and Guelph.
Marchese has played under four of the six of Saint Mary's coaches and told the crowd that he looks forward to carrying on the Huskies' tradition of excellence.
"Saint Mary's has always held a very special place in my heart and this opportunity to come back creates a truly amazing feeling," he said.
He said he does not take the duties and responsibilities of the position lightly and understands as coach that he will be a mentor, a role model, an organizer, a builder of relationships and a teacher.
"I am very confident I can fill these roles and in doing so, I will be contributing to the tradition of excellence here at Saint Mary's."
His vision for the program is not just focused on winning, but also on the process of winning, he said. For him, that means recruiting the best student athletes in the country, maximizing their university experience - academically and in the community - and ensuring they graduate to become active and engaged alumni.
The Hamilton, Ontario native, 42, has had several preliminary meetings with coaches and players and flew to Toronto following the event to work on recruiting players in Ontario.
Athletics Director Steve Sarty and President Colin Dodds presented Marchese with with a team jacket and hat.
Player Neill King, a captain on last year's team, welcomed Coach Marchese on behalf of the players and said everyone is looking forward to moving ahead and working toward a national championship.
This page last modified Thursday, 23-Feb-2012 14:36:01 AST