Jose Perez hired as Elyria Catholic girls soccer coach

Less than 10 years ago Elyria Catholic had one of the top girls soccer programs in Ohio. The Panthers hope they have found the coach to get them back to an elite level. Elyria Catholic recently announced the hire of Jose Perez as it's new coach, replacing Ryan Schlothauerr, who guided the team to a 4-9-3 record in his only season with the Panthers. "I'm very happy and excited for the future," Perez said. "I'm ready to get started working with the team." The 27-year-old Perez played professionally in his native Mexico before moving to Ohio five years ago. This will be his first head coaching job on the high-school level, in 2022 he was an assistant at Crestwood, in Portage County, where he worked with the boys and girls teams. "The most important thing to me is to go step-by-step and make a family," Perez said. "When I mean is family looks out for each other and cares for each other and that is what I want for the girls in the Elyria Catholic soccer program. After we build that then we can start working on our game." The Panthers were the first Lorain County team to play in a state semifinal in 2014, three years later they advanced to the regional finals but even since turnover has been the name of the game on the Elyria Catholic sideline as Perez will be their fifth coach in six years. "For me soccer is a lifestyle," Perez said. "I love the game, I love to see how teams come together. I've heard that Elyria Catholic has had a lot of coaches before but I'm not worried about that. I want to be there for a long time so we can build something good." Earlier this year, Elyria Catholic hired Tony Csiszar as its new boys coach and Csiszar was instrumental in getting Perez into green and white. Perez and Csiszar coach together in the Upper 90 FC program. "A couple days after Tony took that job he told me Elyria Catholic was looking for a coach on the girls side. All of the coaches at Upper 90 encouraged me to apply for it," Perez said. "After I applied for the job I had a chance to sit down and talk with Jim (Elyria Catholic athletic director Jim Piazza). We talked about soccer and about the program and after we were done Jim told me, 'Jose, you're the one.'" With hard work and attention to detail Perez expects to see the Panthers competing for championships again in the near future. "Hard work pays off. I have a plan for this team, I know how I want our team to play but that is only going to happen through hard work," Perez said. "The most important thing for me is take care of the ball. We have to work on our touches and our passes. A lot of movement, a lot of talking and communication. There is no way to be successful if you're just kicking the ball away and seeing what happens." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.