Rich Brannigan II Wins 300th Career Game As Boys Soccer Head Coach
David Creed •
Following the Whaler boys soccer team’s 9-3 victory over the Rising Tide Heron on the island Friday afternoon, head coach Rich Brannigan II’s players, assistant coaches, and family rushed to offer their congratulations on his 300th career victory. He said afterwards there were so many people to thank for this significant milestone, and became visibly emotional when he began talking about the players he’s coached over the past two and a half decades.
"The kids are like the glue. They’re the puzzle pieces and when you have the right mix, the puzzle comes together," a teary eyed Brannigan said, struggling to find and speak the words to describe his players. "The puzzle isn't always a complete puzzle. But the more pieces you put together, the more complete it looks. Not just season by season, but over 25 years of it. They're all part of the puzzle. It's not just one season; it's a part of the history of Nantucket soccer. How it's grown and how it's built. Those pieces are not going to end when I leave. They're going to still be there for the next (coach) to figure out and to keep moving in building that puzzle.”
Brannigan’s Whalers improved their record to 8-4 this season with the win on Friday, and Brannigan’s overall record now sits at 300-126-51 overall. Brannigan gathered his players into a huddle postgame and briefly addressed them while holding a plaque gifted to him by the Athletic Department.
"You guys were not the first ones to put the jersey on. There's plenty of other Whalers who played for me way before you were all part of this,” Brannigan said. “So this isn't about me. This is about all the boys that came through the system that did what you guys are now doing.
"It isn't about my wins, it's about their work and all the players that played before them, and the guys and girls way back when we had girls on the team, and they all did the hard work,” Brannigan continued when asked about his speech to the players after the game. “I was just lucky enough to be a part of the process.”
Brannigan said even in the midst of year 25, coaching has never grown old or become something he doesn’t enjoy. He continues to enjoy the grind and putting the “puzzle pieces” together that make each team, and each season, unique.
"You got to be patient with the process," Brannigan said. "Everyone sees the tape at the finish line, or the championship banner flying, or this plaque, but it's about the process of getting there and the patience of doing the little things or stuff that you don't think matters that helps get players to somewhere special. I'm just lucky enough to be there with them and a part of it. There's a lot of people that put this in process before me. When I reflect back on 25 years, I see it and realize wow it has been a long time but also that it has gone by in the blink of an eye.”
He said he is thankful for Vito Capizzo, the legendary island football coach who gave him his shot as a head coach while the school’s athletic director.
"There's been great athletic directors between Vito Capizzo at the beginning and now Travis (Lombardi), and they've all been part of the process," Brannigan said. "Randy Hudson and Jay Harman were the pushers of soccer, the founders of the program. They built a platform, and I was able to take what they had started and keep running with it. There's a lot of people to thank and to recognize, but most importantly are the players. They do the hard work. They're the ones who get hurt. They're the ones who get banged around you know?"
Brannigan has also had the opportunity to coach his son Treyce, who now plays college soccer at Saint Michaels, his daughter Adney, who is also at Saint Michaels playing soccer, and now his youngest son Raakin, a freshman on the high school team playing a key role.
“Coaching the kids has been awesome," Brannigan said. “Certainly, it has presented some challenges but hey, if you're the father and you're the coach, you got to expect to have issues to deal with because you live with them and you coach them, but those are all the things that come along with it. I think in the long run, it has made the kids better."
