The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Severino retires from Lake Catholic
Longtime coach won 548 matches, including a state championship
One of Northeast Ohio’s illustrious coaching tenures came to a close on Jan. 17.
After a state title, one state runner-up, six state trips, 28 years and 548 career wins, Lake Catholic’s Rich Severino retired from his post as the Cougars’ coach.
“I just feel that it’s time,” Severino said. “I want to do some things with my grandkids. That kind of was the issue, and I just feel like Lake Catholic maybe needs a new voice.”
Lake Catholic athletic director Sam Colacarro said he will miss Severino tremendously as he begins the unenviable task of trying to replace one of the area’s most successful coaches.
Interested parties can send a letter of interest and resume to Colacarro at scolacarro@ lakecatholic.org. The deadline to apply is Feb. 1.
“I still remember the day I interviewed him when he came here,” Colacarro said. “We always said we’d never go out together. He said he’s going to go first. I know he thought long and hard about it.”
Severino concludes his 28year career with a 548-183 record over 731 matches. His legacy of success resides not only on Reynolds Road, but within the many players who proceeded to play high-level Division I college volleyball.
From Eastern Kentucky’s Jessica Sabath to Penn State’s Abby Detering and Ohio State’s Lauren Witte more recently, Severino developed a pipeline of D-I college talent in Mentor.
The Cougars’ 27-1 team in 2016 featured Cincinnati’s Maya Eller, Army’s Monica Eckford and Akron’s Taylor Sharrits alongside Witte. As a freshman for the Buckeyes this fall, Witte started every match at middle blocker, played in every set and led the team with 112 blocks.
Lake Catholic featured four more players who will play college volleyball in 2017, when the Cougars made a second straight trip to Fairborn. Seniors Ila Angermeier signed with Ohio, Annie Cvelbar will play at Eastern Kentucky, junior Ashley Browske is committed to Pitt and sophomore Katy Yopko is committed to Northern Kentucky.
“There’s been some great kids come through there,” Severino said. “It was funny,
we were at Eastside right before Christmas. We were joking, ‘Wow, what a team you could put together, an alumni team from Lake Catholic.’ Lots of talent came through there.”
Severino owns an excavating business, Severino Construction Inc. He and his two brothers bought their father out of the business recently, and a new ownership role will require more of Severino’s time.
In his personal time, Severino is an avid hunter and looks forward to developing a new hobby in competitive shooting. He’ll also have more time to devote to his grandchildren, namely fourth-grade lacrosse standout Steele and third-grader Eva — a soccer player who begins volleyball next year.
Severino still plans to attend Lake Catholic home games in the fall. He may lend a hand at Eastside Cleveland Juniors from time to time. Otherwise, he’s taking the year off from coaching.
“If I miss it, I could always come back,” Severino said. “I would love to be someone’s assistant.”