BHS girls Track and Field coach Ted Zuzzio has been a dedicated coach for the past 35 years and all of his hard work has recently been recognized with a national honor.

Zuzzio was named the National Federation High School Outdoor Girls Track & Field Coach of the Year for 2011. Zuzzio was completely caught off guard when he found out he had won.

“I was totally surprised, being from a small town in Kansas I believe anyone would be totally surprised,” Zuzzio said.

Over the years Zuzzio has been involved in several different programs at Baldwin High School, one of those was the BHS football program.

“I was an assistant coach here [at BHS] for the football program from 1976 to 1985,” Zuzzio said. “We had a run of seven consecutive league titles, a state title in 1981, and we were the state runner-up in 1978.”

Another program that Zuzzio was heavily dedicated to is the BHS girls basketball program.

“I was head coach of the high school girls basketball team here for 20 years, from 1976 to 1997,” Zuzzio said. “We had nine trips to the State Tournament, 2 state titles, 1982 and 1996, and three state runner-up finishes and a fourth place finish.”

Zuzzio coached many girls throughout the 20 years he coached and one of them is BHS English teacher Bonnie Butell-Huntoon.

“We knew when we played for Coach Zuzzio that we were expected to win,” Butell-Huntoon said. “We had grown up watching the high school girls go to state in Salina and that was the dream of every young girl playing basketball.  He built a program.  He recruited girls in the hallways that seemed athletic and gave them confidence to try out for the team.  We felt like we were part of an important tradition.”

The program Zuzzio has been involved with the longest is the BHS Girls Track and Field program.

“I have been the head girls high school Track and Field coach since 1976,” Zuzzio said. “In my 35 years of coaching we have won 15 league titles, 20 regional titles, two state titles and two state runner-up finishes.”

Many coaches have worked beside Zuzzio and one that has been with him for several years is BHS Cross Country and Track and Field coach Mike Spielman.

“He is very deserving of the award,” Spielman said. “He has worked very hard and put a lot of time into our track program here.”

Zuzzio has coached many BHS track athletes and one of them is junior Sienna Durr who has also been on one of the state champion teams.

“Zuzzio is a great coach,” Durr said. “He is always making sure we are improving and performing at our best.”

Zuzzio has also been greatly involved in sports at the junior high level as well.

“I have been the head girls junior high basketball coach the past 15 years with 180 victories and 33 losses,” Zuzzio said.

He was also involved with the junior high Boys Basketball team as well.

“I was the seventh grade boys varsity basketball coach in 2002,” Zuzzio said.

Zuzzio did not stop at the junior high and high school levels, he has also been involved at Baker University as well.

“I was a Baker University football assistant coach in 1986 coaching the receivers,” Zuzzio said. “We were the National Runner-Up that year.”

Zuzzio has many great memories from all of his coaching experiences.

“Some of my favorite memories are coaching and being part of State championship teams here in football, basketball and track and field,” Zuzzio said. “I have enjoyed being a part of some dominating football teams, overtime and come from behind victories in basketball, and mile relay finishes securing state titles in track.”

Zuzzio played all three sports that he has coached when he was in high school.

“In high school I played the big three, football, basketball and track and field,” Zuzzio said. “We didn’t have baseball in school but I played through legion age in the summers.”

Zuzzio had several mentors as coaches growing up.

“My dad was my main mentor as he coached 34 years of high school sports,” Zuzzio said. “I was always with him when I was young, and had the honor of playing for him in high school. My other two high school coaches, Don Walburn and Frank Hemphill, were also instrumental to my sucess.”

Zuzzio knows that there were countless people that allowed him the honor of this award.

“I have been blessed with kids here that are willing to work and compete and coaches working with me to try to give each kid a chance for success,” Zuzzio said. “We have quality experienced coaches here that care and like competition as well, and he have great supportive parents which is another bonus of coaching here.”

Zuzzio believes that this is an award to be shared.

“This award is for all the track kids from Baldwin, all the coaches, and all of Baldwin,” Zuzzio said.