By Rich Fisher | Correspondent
Mike Perone never thought it would happen.
He wasn’t talking about the achievement, but his reaction to it.
Once the final whistle blew Oct. 17 on a 1-0 victory by the Notre Dame High School boys’ soccer team over Robbinsville, Perone’s daughter and grandchildren began marching toward him. They were carrying balloons in the shape of “500″ to signify the long-time coach’s 500th career victory at the Lawrenceville school.
“It really did feel like ‘Wow!’” Perone said. “I really didn’t think it would feel like any big deal. I thought it would be like just another game. But when I saw my daughter and grand kids coming across the field with the balloons and that kind of stuff, you think ‘Wow, this is really taking place.’ It’s definitely a milestone, and my family was there and that really meant a lot for me. The whole thing meant more than I thought it would.
“Leading up to it, I kept saying ‘It’s only a number.’ I told everybody if I got to 499 and didn’t get 500 by the end of the season it wouldn’t drive me crazy, and I really believed that. But to get it on the last regular-season game was great. It’s different when it actually hits you. You say ‘Wow, it’s great.’ Now we’re looking for 501.”
To get that, ND had to win its Mercer County Tournament opener against Princeton Day School on Oct. 20. If it didn’t happen there, the next chance would be in the state tournament opener.
But on Monday evening, Perone just wanted to celebrate with his friends and long-time coaches. It was not only Mike’s milestone, but assistant coach Sigmund “Ziggy” Zegarski’s, as well. Zegarski started with Perone when he took over in 1977 to form one of the longest – if not the longest – running coaching tandems in the state.
The two were friendly rivals in high school when Perone played for Trenton High and Zegarski played for Notre Dame. When John Wagner took a job at Hightstown after the 1976-77 school year, Athletic Director Vince Ardery tabbed Perone for the head soccer job after his strong playing career at Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey).
That summer, Zegarski was playing in a softball tournament and Ardery asked him if he wanted to be Perone’s assistant. Ziggy took the freshman job that first year, began attending classes to learn more about the profession and his been at Perone’s side ever since.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Zegarski said. “We’ve had a lot of great talent over the years. Don’t ask me to pick out a particular player because I don’t want to offend anybody. But we had kids who played for us in the ’80s whose kids are playing for us now. That’s when you know you’re old. Five hundred tells you one thing – you’ve been around a long time.”
Part of the reason they have lasted 40 years and won six state championships together is the chemistry between the two. They constantly bounce ideas off each other and almost know what each other are thinking.
“There’s nothing bad about it,” Zegarski said. “We have a great relationship. You’re not going to find this anywhere else.”
Zegarski is not the only guy Perone shares the honor with. His staff also includes Rich Leedom, who has been with him for 30 years, Pete Gaeta, who has been there more than 25, and Bruce Henry, who Perone says “is the rookie, he’s been here 17 years.”
“They’re definitely a big reason why I’ve stayed for so long, absolutely,” Perone said. “I look at them, and we’ve all kind of played similar ball together. It’s a big family kind of thing and there are no egos involved.”
“When it becomes a job and it’s nerve-racking and crazy and you’re not having fun, that’s when you get out,” Zegarski said. “That’s never happened. You gotta like it, and we do. Mike always told me he’s not quitting until he’s not teaching anymore. But he’s still teaching.”
While in their 20s, neither man ever dreamed they would last this long doing the same thing at the same school with each other.
“You don’t think you’re gonna go 40, and things just started going one after another and building up from there,” Perone said. “You put one foot in front of the other. You’re having fun with the guys who are with you and it ended up being what it is.
“It’s nice because a lot of guys don’t get to stay with a group of guys this long. There’s usually other things they have to do or they want to do. That’s not the case here. I have guys who I wanted here and they wanted to be here.”
The other piece of the puzzle, of course, has been outstanding players. No chemistry in the world will keep this many coaches together if there aren’t some victories to go along with it.
At the start of the season, the current Irish players learned from Zegarski that 500 was on the horizon. It did not seem feasible that it would come this year, however, when ND started at 1-6.
“The kids weren’t happy, and I told them at that point ‘Listen, we have to get to .500 for him to get 500,’” Zegarski said.
The win over Robbinsville, which carried an 11-3-1 record into the game, was Notre Dame’s sixth in eight games and put it at 7-8 entering the post season.
“We’re peaking at the right time right now,” Perone said. “We’ve been putting in a lot of time and we’ve hit our stride. We’re putting it together. We’re 7-8, but we’re a good 7-8.”
As always, Perone guided the ship with a steady hand when things were tough, and he’s doing the same now that things are good.
“He’s fair, he’s stern when he has to be stern, and he’s one of these guys that you have to like, because he’s so dedicated to it,” Zegarski said. “He’s got a passion for it. He just loves it.”
With that said, Zegarski decided to return to the celebration.
“There’s not much more you can say,” he said with a laugh. “I’m not writing an obituary here.”
Quite the opposite, in fact, as it all still seems new, fresh and exciting for Mike Perone.