Lakewood Ranch girls soccer coach keeps Mustangs stable

After the Lakewood Ranch girls soccer team won the Class 5A District 8 title on Jan. 20, athletic director Shawn Trent drove a golf cart up to coach Guy Virgilio, who was holding the trophy. Trent motioned for Virgilio to hand it to him.

“Should I just toss it with all the other ones?” Trent asked Virgilio.

They shared a good laugh.

Indeed, Virgilio has been successful. The win signified his 13th district championship since the school’s first girls soccer season in 1999, when the school opened. On Jan. 13, the Mustangs defeated Palmetto 8-0 to give Virgilio his 300th career win.

“It's one of the goals that I wanted to achieve,” Virgilio said of the 300 wins. “The school really has supported me over the years, and I knew that I wanted to be coaching for them for many years. I said, ‘You know, that would be something neat to achieve.’ I can't believe it. I'm kind of surprised, but I'm glad I was able to achieve it.”

What meant the most to Virgilio, though, was seeing former players come back and congratulate him on his achievement, he said. Virgilio is a people person. Coaching is his passion in large part because he gets to work with talented athletes and then he tries to maximize that talent. That is more rewarding to him than his win/loss record, he said. So when 2014 graduate Amanda Barr, 2015 graduate Maria Miller and 2016 graduates Danielle Wilson and Julia Ortiz, among others, were waiting for him when he walked off the field, it touched him.

Reflecting on his career, Virgilio said his most challenging season was his first. It was a young team, filled with only freshmen and sophomores. Even then, he could tell that there was potential to be unlocked within that group, he said. The program won just three games in that initial season, and missed the playoffs.

It’s the only time the Mustangs have missed the playoffs in their existence.

“The next year, we picked up a few older players, our other girls got older themselves,” Virgilio said. “Some of the freshmen that came in really contributed to the program right away, and we won the district. It’s been phenomenal ever since.”

Virgilio’s coaching style has changed over the years, he said. Today, players require more attention than they did when he first started coaching. As a result, Virgilio has stopped teaching everyone with a singular, in-your-face attitude, and has embraced a “go with the flow” mantra with players who learn better that way, he said.

One player who appreciates Virgilio’s intense side is Gi Krstec, a senior committed to the University of Maryland.

“It gets me motivated, and I play better,” Krstec said. “I like it, he's always on you. He pressures you to work harder.”

With all of his success, one would think Virgilio could have jumped to a higher level of coaching, but he said he’s never considered leaving the school. Virgilio’s day job is acting as vice president of manufacturing for Callaghan Tire. That position pays the bills, and Lakewood Ranch gives him an opportunity to attack his passion. It’s a match made in heaven.

Virgilio could not pin down a most rewarding campaign, because he gets a lot out of coaching his girls every year. He could, however, recall two individual moments that stick out in his mind. The first involved Lindsay Thompson, a 2008 graduate who played at the University of Florida, and two goals she scored against Manatee.

“She was on the left side of the field,” Virgilio said. “She cuts the ball in, and she takes a right-footed shot and just ... upper-corner. Perfect. Ten minutes later, she goes on the other side, the right side, she cuts the ball in and puts the ball in the other corner.”

Virgilio’s other memory occurred just last season, against Riverview. Junior Faith Schyck scored a goal from 30 yards that Virgilio called “the most beautiful shot I have ever seen.”

The coach has brought heaps of success and fantastic moments to the program, but there’s still one accomplishment that has eluded him: A state championship. His teams have reached the semifinals four times, but never has put it all together, and that has stuck in Virgilio’s craw.

Still, humble as ever even after yet another district title, Virgilio has no plans of stopping his dream now.

“I’m going to be patient,” Virgilio said. “Hopefully it can happen for me.”