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Jim Catanzaro

James Matthew Catanzaro; (born January 16, 1978) is an American Football coach who has been the head football coach at Lake Forest College since 2009.

In addition to serving as the Head Football Coach, Catanzaro served as the Head Lacrosse Coach, Mens (2007-2010) and Womens (2011-2014). As the Head Womens Coach, Catanzaro had a record of 51-7, and was twice named the Womens Collegiate Lacrosse League Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2014. In 2019, Catanzaro was named the Assistant Athletic Director for Lake Forest College overseeing Sports Performance and Career Advancement.

Early life and education

Catanzaro was born in Rome, New York, to James J. and Lynne Catanzaro. He and his sister, Megan, grew up and graduated from Rome Free Academy. He played offensive and defensive line on the 1995 OHSL Champion Black Knight Football team. Catanzaro was coached by the legendary Tom Hoke and positionally by Tom Myslinski, and was named all-conference and the winner of the Fran Regan Award. Catanzaro also served as the captain of the Arcaro Classic All-Star Game. Catanzaro also played basketball and ran track in high school. In 1995, Catanzaro was named the president of the New York State Junior Classical League (NYSJCL).

Upon graduation Catanzaro enrolled at Greenville College (now University). Catanzaro lettered in four sports while in college (Football, Soccer, Basketball, and Tennis). He was named all St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in both 1998 and 1999. He earned a bachelors degree in Physical Education. In 2002, he earned a masters degree in Communication Studies from West Virginia University, and is currently pursuing his doctorate at Liberty University.

Catanzaro is of Italian and Irish descent. On March 17, 2007 Catanzaro married Catherine Howard, a two-time All-American field hockey player at Longwood University, and had become a college coach at Catawba College. She is currently the head field hockey and lacrosse coach at Lake Forest High School.

Coaching Career

Glenville State College Catanzaro had not intended to enter the college coaching ranks until after he started his student teaching assignment at Centralia High School. Realizing that he no longer wanted to be a high school teacher, Catanzaro was pointed in the direction of a graduate assistant position by his college Defensive Coordinator Adam Gonzaga at Glenville State College. Catanzaro joined Paul Shaffner's first staff for the Pioneers and lead the strength and conditioning program as well as coaching the defensive line. While at Glenville, Catanzaro coached several all-conference selections including Lou Vega, Brian Heffner, and Dana Raburn. During his time at Glenville State, the Pioneers won the 2001 WVIAC football conference championship, and he was part of the 2001 WVIAC Coaching Staff of the Year.

Wingate University In 2003, Catanzaro was hired to be the defensive line coach and strength and conditioning coach at Wingate University. Catanzaro found great success under the tutelage of Joe Reich. The Bulldogs would have significant victories as they defeated NCAA Division I-AA opponent Charleston Southern University, Davidson College, and Jacksonville University during his time at the NCAA Division II program. The Bulldogs also recorded 8 wins in 2004, which at the time was the most wins in school history. Catanzaro coached John Bowman (2003) and Kenwin Cummings (2005) to All-American status. During his time with the Bulldogs, they recorded 86 sacks and led the conference in forced turnovers twice. The Bulldog coaching staff was named the South Atlantic Conference coaching staff of the year in 2004.

Lake Forest College

In February of 2006, Catanzaro was hired to be the Defensive Coordinator at Lake Forest College by his former college coach Brent Becker. Catanzaro made an immediate impact on the defense as they significantly improved their conference rankings. In his first season, the Foresters placed six of their 11 starters on the Midwest Conference All-conference team. . The Foresters were paced by All-American QB Pete Scaffidi and the Midwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year Al Mitchell on offense, but it was Catanzaro's defense that truly shined through holding opponents to 19 points per game, while having 14 players with over 20 tackles on the season

National Leadership

In 2015, Catanzaro was selected to serve on the NCAA Division III Football Championship Committee, and in 2018 he began a 2-year appointment as the chair. Catanzaro oversaw operations of two Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl games, including the first game outside of Salem, VA in 25 years when the game was moved to Shenandoah, TX in 2018. Catanzaro was featured numerous times on the D3Football.com Podcast including co-hosting podcast 242 as a guest host, and providing an in-depth breakdown of the bracketing process in podcast 216.

In January of 2019, Catanzaro was selected to the American Football Coaches Association Board of Trustees by his peers. Catanzaro became one of only two NCAA Division III coaches to be on the committee. Catanzaro had perviously served the AFCA on their Randy Walker Power of Influence Golf Outing Committee as well as on the All-American Selection Committee.

Recognition

Catanzaro was honored by the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. in 2014 with one of their Sapphire Awards as an Educator of the Year. In 2015, Catanzaro would join the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., through the Nu Lambda Sigma graduate chapter in Lake County, IL. Catanzaro would go onto receive the President's Award in 2017 in recognition of his efforts for bringing and undergraduate chapter of Phi Beta Sigma, Inc. to the Lake Forest College campus.

Catanzaro was selected in three consecutive years 2012-2014 to serve on the Team USA Coaching Staff in the Tazon de Estrellas Football Game. The game featured NCAA Division III All-Stars versus Team Mexico which consisted of their nationally selected collegiate all-star team.

Personal Life

Catanzaro and his wife, Catherine, are parents of two children, Caden and Katie. The Catanzaro's have been active in supporting the American Cancer Society through the annual Relay for Life. Catanzaro is Roman Catholic, and is also the Lake Forest College Campus advisor for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Catanzaro has served as a huddle leader at FCA Summer Camps, and FCA Leadership Camp in Pennsylvania. Catanzaro enjoys outdoor events and music and is active on social media. He often highlights food and concert attendance on his posts, and lists Darius Rucker as one of his favorite artists.