The cliché “big shoes to fill” gets thrown around a lot, but for Ryan Nixon and Lori Quintavalle, the phrase is definitely appropriate.
Nixon and Quintavalle are the new boys and girls soccer coaches, respectively, at Haddonfield Memorial High School this season. It is the first coaching change for the girls program in nine years and an astounding 38 years for the boys.
“We were fortunate to have great coaches in Glenn Gess and Joe Falana guiding our student athletes but we are excited about the future of each program with Ryan and Lori at the helm,” athletic director Lefteris Banos said.
Both Gess and Falana retired at the beginning of summer with impressive resumes.
Gess compiled a career record of 189–18–7 at Haddonfield, including three Group II championships and eight Colonial Conference titles. Falana is one of only two South Jersey boys’ soccer coaches to surpass the 600-win mark on his way to winning seven state titles, 18 South Jersey sectional titles, 24 Colonial Conference championships and one Coaches Cup title.
The success that Haddonfield has experienced could be seen as a burden to new coaches, but for Quintavalle, she prefers it to the alternative.
“This is a program that has been so successful that you don’t want to or need to change that much,” Quintavalle said. “I have my own personality and ways of doing things, but the groundwork for this team has already been laid.”
Nixon echoed that sentiment.
“It would be impossible not to think about who we are replacing but I have a great relationship with Joe. He’s given me his full backing and has been great in putting me in this position. All I can do is thank him for all he’s done for me,” Nixon said. “I know this program, I love this program. I played here and I know what it takes to succeed here.”
Quintavalle, who is also a health and physical education teacher at the school, graduated from HMHS in 2000 and went onto play at University of Maryland, Baltimore County before graduating in 2004. It was Gess that brought her back home.
“It was always a dream to come back to HMHS to coach. I love the program, I love the people, I love the area but you’re not sure how things will work out. But when Gess called and asked me to be on his staff, it definitely changed my life.
“It brought me home,” Quintavalle said.
Nixon’s path was not quite as direct after graduating from Western Maryland, now McDaniel College. He spent a few years working in sales and customer service roles before realizing coaching was his true passion.
“It took a few years to get back involved, but, after starting very grassroots as a trainer and coach for youth club teams, I knew HMHS is where I wanted to be,” Nixon said.
Both coaches have enjoyed a friendship that dates back to their days in the hallways of HMHS, and the fact they’re both where they are now is not lost on them.
“It is wild. We’re great friends. Even in college we played not far apart. Having Lori here and her cooperation and support has meant everything to me,” Nixon said.
Both Nixon and Quintavalle hoped for closeness between the two programs as they start their head coaching careers.
“We want both teams to support each other. We’ve talked about doing volunteering and clinics together.
“We’re really looking forward to it. It will be a fun season,” Quintavalle said.
Both coaches spoke to the senior leadership as well as the maturity of their teams as something they will lean on in their first year.
“Our team has a good group of leaders in our senior class that will be definitely be a help to me, and we have some pretty skilled freshmen coming into the program as well, so the future is bright,” Quintavalle said.
