NORTH NAPLES, Fla. — A lot of people say they were born into their sport as a figure of speech. However, Piotr Nowak quite literally was.
While Piotr’s father, Josef, was playing professional soccer overseas, he was living at his team’s stadium. During that time, Piotr was born. So, Piotr was literally born into the sport of soccer.
Nowak picked up the game quickly and learned from his father. Four decades later, Piotr has one of the best soccer resumes of all time. It includes being named the Polish Player of the Year, a three-time MLS All-Star, a winner of the MLS Cup in his first year as a head coach, the coach of the U.S. Olympic Team, and much more.
“He is probably one of ten people that has his type of resume in the world,” Dennis Chapman, the head of school at the Village School of Naples, said.
After over 40 years of playing and coaching on the national and international stage, Piotr is now settling down in Southwest Florida. He has had a home in Naples since 1998, but was in and out of the area due to his soccer commitments. Now at 58 years old, Piotr is staying in SWFL and wants to pass along his wisdom to the next generation of soccer players.
“It’s time for me to give something back,” Nowak said.
Nowak is the new head coach at the Village School of Naples. The Knights just started their soccer program five years ago. They had a coaching vacancy this offseason and a mutual friend connected Piotr and the higher-ups at the Village School. After a quick look over his resume and a couple of conversations, Piotr was hired.
“In order to be competitive in a very competitive area here in Naples, we have to have people like Peter that can come in and see a vision of what it could be,” Chapman said.
Piotr is in charge of both the middle school and high school boys soccer teams. He combines the teams at times during practice in the hopes that it will help the program in the long run. That is the biggest challenge Nowak has been tasked with — don’t just coach a team, create a program.
“The important is to create a program that’s going to be successful year by year, step by step,” Piotr said.
If his past is any indication of how he’ll do in the future, the Village School of Naples is in good hands with Piotr Nowak.
“I’m looking forward to the next months or, I hope, years,” Nowak said.
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