Weisz hired as Ellwood City baseball coach
Feb. 13—An era at Ellwood City Lincoln High is over. For a second time.
Jeff Fotia resigned as the Wolverines' baseball coach. Chris Weisz, who is 30, was hired to succeed Fotia.
Fotia was in his second stint as the Wolverines' coach.
Weisz is a 2009 Ellwood City graduate. He played for Fotia in seventh and eighth grade.
Fotia resigned after his first stint, which was prior to Weisz playing at the varsity level.
Weisz, a son of Joe and Jenny Weisz, played for Erik Montozzi at the varsity level and he was a four-year starter. He played all three outfield positions, as well as catcher.
"I was quite emotional," Weisz said of his hiring as the program's coach. "It's a dream of mine. This community shaped me as a father, an educator, and a community member.
"I look forward to giving everything back to the community."
Fotia, who is 64, had two successful runs as Ellwood City's varsity baseball coach. His first stint went from 1994 to 2005, and he directed the Wolverines to two WPIAL Class AA championships (2001 and 2003) and a PIAA Class AA crown in 2003).
He returned to the diamond as Ellwood City's coach in 2010.
"There's so many things going on. It was just time," Fotia said of stepping down. "It was more than 40 years for me in coaching, probably more than that in the game of baseball. It's a great group coming back to Ellwood; it just seemed like the right time for me.
"I want to spend more time with my family. Time flies. It seems like I just got the job. There's a lot of work that goes into coaching. And COVID canceling the 2020 season didn't help things out. We worked hard last year and we didn't get to play. You put all those facts together, it just seemed like the right time."
During his tenure from 2010 through 2020, Fotia fashioned a 100-102 overall record. He won a third WPIAL Class AA title in 2012, guiding the Wolverines to a 21-3 overall record.
Fotia said he turned in his resignation back in December.
"It was a hard decision," he said. "I appreciate all of the stuff the school did for us, the community and the coaches.
"It's a tough job, but it was an enjoyable job. I was blessed with great coaches and great community support."
Weisz, who has three sons — Gavyn (9), Greyson (4) and Geno (1) — attended West Virginia University, but he didn't play at the collegiate level. After college, he got into coaching.
Weisz was an assistant junior high baseball coach at Shenango for one season, and an assistant coach for five years under coaches Mike Othites and Matt Diesel. Diesel left the Wildcats to become coach at North Catholic and Weisz followed him, serving as assistant coach for two years.
In addition, Weisz is an assistant varsity basketball coach for Ellwood City under Steve Antuono.
"Taking over for Jeff Fotia means a lot to me," Weisz said. "Jeff was an idol to me.
"He ran a great, prestigious program. Every day, I get to look at those baseball banners in the gymnasium. I want to continue that tradition and add to those banners."
Weisz is eager to meet with his players.
"It's been real tough with COVID and getting the job later," Weisz said of meeting his players. "I've reached out. We're probably going to meet via Zoom and introduce ourselves.
"We want to get ideas out there and philosophies out there. I want to get them ready to compete."
Ellwood City compiled an 8-10 mark in 2019, the last season the team was able to compete. Spring sports were canceled last year because of COVID-19.
"We have seniors coming back. The juniors were punished the most from last year's team that didn't get to play," Weisz said.
"I'm returning that nucleus; it's a great nucleus with a great attitude.
"They're hungry. I'm hungry. We're ready to put a team on the field that Ellwood can rally around and respect."
