Year after year, as his Cazenovia varsity football teams piled up league and Section III titles, Tom Neidl said that the program’s continuity was a primary source of its success, with few changes in staff over the course of a quarter-century.
Now, though, it’s Neidl himself who is exiting the scene.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday afternoon, Terry Neidl, Tom’s son, announced that his father was stepping down after 25 seasons at the Lakers’ helm and 36 years overall in the coaching ranks.
“It feels like this day would never come,” said Terry Neidl. “Almost like my father would coach Cazenovia football forever. I’m not sure what his next step will be, but I know one thing, it will be one that he brings character, loyalty, pride, and heart to, just as he always does.
“I stand up with all the players, coaches, alumni of Cazenovia Football, and lives that he has touched to congratulate Thomas Neidl on a wonderful coaching career. We will all be cheering you on as you embark on your next venture. Congratulations Dad. I love you.”
Cazenovia athletic director Mike Byrnes, who played football for Neidl from 1991 to ’93, said that Neidl’s greatest atttribute on the field was his level of preparation.
“In all my years as an athlete, I never once played for a coach who was more prepared for a practice or game,” said Byrnes. “He was a master scouter and game-planner, and athletes on his teams knew this. One could always tell that (Neidl’s) assistant coaches respected him and looked up to his leadership and knowledge.
Taking over as the Lakers’ head coach in 1990, Neidl already had spent 11 seasons in the Cazenovia program, building a winner that would flourish even more under his watch, with help from long-time assistants like Mark Evans and Jay Steinhorst.
Neidl’s teams won 178 games against just 55 losses and one tie, a win percentage of .761. During that time, Cazenovia won 15 league championships and seven Section III titles, both in Class B and C, the most recent title coming in 2013, with a regional title earned in Class C in 1996.
In particular, the Lakers made Saturday afternoons at Buckley-Volo Field a virtual cinch for the Lakers, as it never lost a home game in any of the last 13 seasons Neidl coached. Cazenovia’s last home defeat came way back in 2001.
Byrnes said that a search is underway for Neidl’s replacement, though it’s expected that Steinhorst and Evans will have some role in the program going forward as Neidl gets to spend more time with his wife, Lynn, plus his son Terry and grandson Hunter.
” The district not only recognizes Tom for all of his hard work and achievement, but thanks Tom’s family for making the sacrifices that only a coaching family knows about,” said Byrnes. “Years from now, we will still be talking about the imprint that Tom Neidl made on Cazenovia Football.”
