Long Island has lost a coaching legend this week as we have learned about the passing of coach Paul Koretzki.
His illustrious coaching career began back in 1960 at Oceanside Middle School, where he coached soccer. He then moved onto Brentwood and spent 15 years as a basketball assistant, soccer coach, and spring track coach.
But his loss will be felt the most from Shoreham-Wading River. With the Wildcats, he coached both track and field and cross-country since 1980. During his time there, he amassed more than 1,000 wins with less than 200 losses. A remarkable win-loss record at any level of coaching.
Koretzki led his teams to 73 League Titles, 36 Conference/Division Titles, 33 County Titles, and 2 State Titles. While 14 individuals and 2 relay teams were awarded All-American status. Coach Koretzki was voted League, Division, or County Coach of the Year in Suffolk County a remarkable 144 times. He was also the New York State XC Coach of the Year in 1987 and again 20 years later in 2017.
In 2020, he was inducted into the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame, and now he is a member of the Suffolk County XC and Track Hall of Fame.
Last week, after the passing of coach Paul Koretzki, the Shoreham-Wading River girls' cross-country team won against Hampton Bays, taking 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7th places. They ran the race wearing the letter "K" on their arms to honor their late coach.
After the meet, the girls laughed and said how he would have told them to “get on with it” and not mess around with orange ribbons and armbands.