THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 13, 1994 TAG: 9407130539
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 113 lines
It was appropriate Old Dominion announced its new baseball coach with a press conference behind home plate, because Tony Guzzo is coming home.
Guzzo, a Norfolk native and Norfolk Catholic graduate, was introduced as the 10th head coach in ODU's 62-year baseball history Tuesday at the Bud Metheny Complex. Guzzo coached the previous 12 seasons at Virginia Commonwealth, the second moribund program (the first was at North Carolina Wesleyan) he has turned into a consistent winner in his career.
At Old Dominion, virtually everyone returns from an NCAA Tournament team except for head coach Pat McMahon, who announced five weeks ago he accepted a job at Mississippi State. The task for Guzzo is to keep it going rather than turning it around.
For Guzzo, it's a return to an area he holds dear, an area he has recruited heavily and a chance to do his work in front of his friends and his parents. His parents, Ralph and Vicki, still live in Norfolk.
``The No. 1 thing for me is the fact it is home,'' Guzzo said. ``Right here in this city my dad introduced me to baseball 42 years ago when he was playing and coaching at the Naval base.
``To be able to come home and share it with my dad, who is my biggest supporter and my toughest critic sometimes, that was special to me.''
Old Dominion assistant Tim Parenton, who was interviewed for the
job, will stay on as Guzzo's No. 1 assistant.
Along with the excitement of coming back home, Guzzo admitted to some apprehension. In his last two jobs, at Virginia Commonwealth and at North Carolina Wesleyan, the expectations were minimal. Now he comes into a program with a winning tradition and expectations, and family and friends will be scrutinizing him.
Guzzo, 45, said it's a little easier for a player to accept striking out with the winning run on third base when he's 100 miles away than it is in his home park.
``It's a little scary,'' Guzzo said. ``A lot is expected here and it's a lot harder when you are in front of friends and peers.''
It could be argued that going from VCU, which Guzzo led to the NCAA tournament twice, to Old Dominion is a lateral move. But with his ties to the area, and the on-campus facility at ODU that VCU lacks - the Rams play at The Diamond Triple-A park - it wasn't lateral to Guzzo.
``It's a job that's more attractive than the one I had,'' Guzzo said. ``To me, this is a very special place. This was always a job that, if the opportunity presented itself, I wanted to pursue it.''
Guzzo did pursue the ODU position five years ago when McMahon got the job. This time, VCU athletic director Richard Sander expressed Guzzo's interest to Old Dominion athletic director Jim Jarrett.
``Early on, through conversations with Dick Sander, I did know of Tony's interest,'' Jarrett said. ``We left it that we would keep it unofficial until we did narrow down our pool, and at the time we did that Tony would be a finalist.''
Sander said when the job came open he asked Guzzo if he was interested. Guzzo told him he wasn't going to apply for it because he didn't want to hurt VCU's program if word got out he was seeking another job. So Sander assumed the unique position of serving as an intermediary for his own employee.
``I said to him, `Jim and I are good friends, I'll be glad to call Jim for you,' '' Sander said. ``It was more comfortable that way. I had a strong suspicion that was what would make Tony happiest.''
Four coaches confirmed they were interviewed by ODU before the Fourth of July holiday: ODU assistant Parenton; Georgia assistant Jim Bagnall, a former Old Dominion assistant; North Carolina assistant Mark Halvorsen; and Florida assistant Dave Howard.
``Nobody really stood out enough to say, `Hey, we don't need to look at anyone else,' '' said ODU catcher Mike Cowell, who was a member of the search committee. ``I knew (Guzzo) was going to be looked at. I heard through the coaching/scouting grapevine he was in the back of their minds.''
Guzzo was interviewed Thursday by the search committee. Jarrett said he has seen Guzzo over the years when ODU played VCU, and knew he was a coach who had competitive teams and that he recruited good players who represented the school well. Jarrett said he was also impressed with Guzzo's work with Little League and other youth leagues.
``He's got a track record on all that,'' Jarrett said. ``When you look at all that and the number of years he's coached college baseball successfully, he was a real desirable guy to go after.''
Guzzo, who will earn a base salary of $51,000, said having Parenton stay on will help the program's continuity. Guzzo said retaining Parenton was not forced upon him.
``It wasn't predetermined - it was an option,'' Guzzo said. ``Tim had a position in the university, but not necessarily in baseball unless there was a mesh there.
``I know and respect Tim and he's an outstanding coach and person. I hoped he would stay because I felt it was in the best interest of the program.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
JIM WALKER/Staff
Graphic
THE GUZZO FILE
College coaching numbers: 16 years - 1983-94 at Virginia
Commonwealth (329-300-2 record); 1979-82 at North Carolina Wesleyan
(102-66).
School: Graduated from Norfolk Catholic in 1967. Bachelor's
degree from East Carolina in health and physical education, 1971.
Letter-earner in baseball (catcher) and football (kicker).
Career: Returned to Norfolk Catholic in 1972 as head baseball
coach and assistant football coach. Returned to ECU in 1976 as
graduate assistant baseball coach. First college head coaching job,
1979, North Carolina Wesleyan. Took Virginia Commonwealth job in
1982. Led VCU to its first winning season in Division I in 1987,
then won Sun Belt title and advanced to NCAA Tournament in 1988.
Also reached tournament in 1992 and ended up ranked in national top
25.
Family: Wife Kitsy, an Old Dominion graduate, son Anthony, 15,
and daughter Gina, 9.
by CNB