The Forester football team's coaching staff will have a new look this fall.
Joining Head Coach Jim Catanzaro and his eight returning assistants are Pat Pistorio, Ryan Newman, Tim Spencer, Karl Crawford, and Randy Wright.
Pistorio begins his second stint with the Foresters, having directed the team's wide receivers from 2007 to 2009. He is now the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator after spending the last seven seasons of his career as the head coach at South Elgin (2013-17) and Niles North (2018-19) High Schools. Pistorio led South Elgin to the state playoffs in three of his five seasons at the school.
Joining Pistorio on the offensive side of the ball are wide receiver coaches Tim Spencer and Ryan Newman. Spencer has 14 years of experience coaching at the NFL level and was named the league's Running Backs Coach of the Year by Pro Football Focus while he was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015. Newman is a 2008 graduate of fellow Midwest Conference member Ripon College and will be making his collegiate coaching debut in 2021.
One new assistant who is not new to coaching at this level is defensive line coach Randy Wright, who spent eight of the last nine falls at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. The Jumbos were 33-26 during his time on staff, including the last seven seasons while he was the defensive coordinator. On a more local level, Wright was an All-American linebacker at Elmhurst College and began his coaching career at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois.
Working specifically with the defensive ends this season will be a familiar face to several Foresters. Karl Crawford has spent the last seven years as an assistant coach at the prep level in Arizona, including five at Chandler High School in Phoenix. Seven current Foresters graduated from Chandler and played during Cawford's tenure at the school.
"I am extremely excited about this year's coaching staff," stated Head Coach and Director of Athletics Jim Catanzaro. "The returning members have been a big part of our success in recent seasons and the additions bring a wealth of experience at several different levels. I feel fortunate to be able to work with such a diverse group of high-quality coaches and I am confident our players are going to thrive in the environment they provide.
