Kicking-off a New Era, continued...

Comrie looks back today and knows that Coach Morrone had taken a chance on the brash youngster from Bed-Stuy.

Elvis slipped into UConn’s department of home economics, becoming the only male blue-chip athlete in the nation majoring in fashion design.

He did not fit comfortably into the mold of Morrone’s old-school style. Elvis did not want to subdue his flair, his daring. “I told Coach I was a creator and needed my freedom,” Comrie recounts. Morrone pretty much told him there was only one Creator and He wasn’t named Elvis.

Morrone insisted his team play hardnosed defense. He drilled his players on every detail, every nuance of the game. Though their relationship would be testy, he corralled Elvis and got him to stop trying to get by six opponents in his own end. “We compromised. I wouldn’t do anything risky until I got to midfield!” Elvis recalls.

Elvis delivered as promised. On Dec. 6, 1981, UConn defeated Alabama A&M, 2-1, in overtime at Stanford Stadium to win the NCAA crown. Elvis had scored the game-winner in the semifinal victory over Eastern Illinois. Elvis and teammate Pedro DeBrito were selected to the All-America team for the 20-3-2 Huskies. Elvis stood alone, No.1 on the charts, named “Player of the Year” by Soccer America.

Now Coach Comrie—still ranked second in UConn career points scored (145)—echoes the sentiments of Morrone, a mentor he always “respected and trusted.” Comrie preaches self-discipline, teamwork and selflessness. And he searches always for a diamond in the rough, that borderline student who just needs to be given a chance to shine.

Comrie did not finish his degree in fashion design until 1986. The Montreal Manics drafted him as a senior to play in the North American Soccer League. Elvis emerged as an immediate star, earning runner-up honors in the league’s Rookie of the Year voting.

With indoor and outdoor soccer leagues and franchises popping up and down, Comrie took his all-star act on the road. In Chicago, for the Sting. In Maryland, for the Bays. Even to France. Finally, he tried to settle into becoming a stockbroker. That foray ended with a thud on Black Monday, that September day in 1987 when the market plummeted.

Finally, Comrie sat down to write a candid self-evaluation. He thought about things he might be good at. On the top of the page, he scrawled “helping kids who need a chance.”

Opportunity knocked when his friend Shaun Green, head coach at Central Connecticut, needed an assistant. With Comrie aboard, Central Connecticut went 15-3, earning a Top 5 ranking in New England. In 1991, Comrie applied for the head Holy Cross spot, then a part-time position. He was hired by Athletics Director Ron Perry ’54—himself a championship-caliber, All-American athlete who had been an outstanding coach.

Comrie’s 1993 team climbed into the New England’s Top 10 ranking. In 1995, Comrie was named Patriot League Coach of the Year, an award he received again in 1999 and 2001.

Then came the men’s soccer team’s finest hour in its 39-year history. The 2002 Crusaders, stocked with 17 seniors in Comrie’s best recruiting class, attained a Top 25 national ranking. Holy Cross posted a record 13 victories and made its first NCAA tournament before bowing to Fairleigh Dickinson on penalty kicks in the opening round.

To build a program dotted with success, Elvis paid a price. His job didn’t become designated as full time until 1996. Before that, he earned a meager salary, which he supplemented by running his own soccer clinics and driving throughout the Northeast and beyond to work at others. He operated more like a jazz musician seeking out gigs. On his own dime, in his own car, Elvis went on scouting forays, volunteering at talent jamborees such as the South Florida Showcase, using his charm and reputation to make soccer contacts, hoping to hook a hot recruit.

Kicking-off a New Era, continued >>