Coshocton Soccer Community Comes Together To Honor Late Coach

COSHOCTON, OH

A legacy. It has no single shape or form, but for the Coshocton soccer community, it’s been molded by the memory of one of the best to ever do it in his own town. 

“Greg was very instrumental in bringing a soccer program to Coshocton Elementary.”

“He built the programs and he’s got so many district titles as a head coach, and his coaching tree is enormous.”

From the time he started the soccer program in Coshocton in the 1990s, head coach Gregory Yurjevic was given the nickname “The Father of Coshocton”, not only for being the founder, but also willing to give opportunities to anyone.

Current girls soccer head coach, and former player Kimmie Underwood said, “he welcomed me onto the boys team, no questions asked. He treated me just like I was one of the guys, I guess, what you want to say. But it just really meant a lot to me that he treated me equally and he gave me the same opportunities. I ended up getting to play with them. I lettered with the boys, and I will just always remember him for that, for taking a chance on a girl when a lot of guys wouldn’t do that a lot.” 

Because Yurjevic accomplished almost everything you could ask for the: most wins in school history, multiple district titles, and getting his players to college. And even though with all the success on the field, he had an even bigger impact for a different reason.

“His patience. And his giving of time, right? He would invest in those kids to make sure, even if it was for five minutes, they knew they were in a safe space and could learn, even if they were terrified” said former player Jamie Duling. “Like one of his greatest gifts was, he helped generations.”

The Coshocton Redskins will play their first home game without Coach Yurjevic on the sidelines in years, this Saturday at 1 p.m, and they will hold a moment of silence before the kickoff.