A true family affair
BUFFALO TWP — Freeport boys soccer is a family affair for Dave Teorsky.
He just finished up his eighth season as varsity head coach for the Yellowjackets. His son, Stevie Teorsky, is the program's junior varsity head coach. Another son, Patrick McNulty, is an assistant with both squads.
“When I grew up in Natrona Heights, organized soccer was not a thing, at least not around me,” Dave Teorsky said. “A foreign-exchange student from Germany got my friends and I involved in some pick-up games. But it wasn't until my kids began playing that I grew up in the sport and started coaching.”
All five of Teorsky's children played the sport in their youth, but it was Patrick and Stevie who stuck with it. They both played for their father with the Yellowjackets, with Patrick graduating in 2016 and Stevie in 2019.
The former joined the program as an assistant the season after he graduated.
“I'm a very competitive person and I like the camaraderie that comes with soccer,” McNulty said. “When I played in high school, my dad and I had a mutual respect for each other. We knew that there had to be a line between father/son and coach/player. If not, it could've affected the team in a negative way.”
Stevie had a similar desire to stay involved.
“I had played competitive soccer since I was eight or nine years old. As my playing career was coming to a close, there was a lot of emotion knowing that I was going to be hanging up my boots.
“I was thinking about how I could stay involved because soccer is one thing that I truly have a passion for.”
Stevie Teorsky was hoping to join Patrick as an assistant at Freeport. He enrolled at Butler County Community College, which made this goal very feasible due to the close proximity.
Then the JV coaching position became available and he got the job.
“Stevie was able to schedule his courses so that he could coach and in two seasons, he's never missed a practice or a game,” Dave Teorsky said.
During his playing career, Stevie developed into a reliable midfielder/defender who read the field well and was an effective communicator.
He now uses his playing experience and knowledge of the game to help Freeport's players improve.
“He's 6-foot-8 and has a booming voice when he needs it,” Dave Teorsky said of Stevie. “He knew a lot of the players well before he started coaching them, played with some of them. But he has been able to make the transition from a friend and teammate relationship to one of coach and player with grace and maturity.”
And Stevie credits his father with showing him what it takes to be a coach, which goes far beyond Xs and Os.
“I learned a lot from my dad. You're not just a coach, you have to be a mentor, too,” Stevie said. “All kids are different and it's not just soccer. You have to manage people.”
Dave Teorsky has drawn upon his past experiences to do just that.
“I played basketball and tennis in high school at St. Joseph,” he said. “I still remember the people who coached me. I think, 'What will my players say about me years from now?'
“Kids come in as boys and they go out as young men. You have to treat them as individuals and with common decency.”
