Picco ready to lead Towanda girls
By: The Review | Towanda Daily Review | April 5, 2018
The idea of leaving Waverly's soccer programs was not an easy one for Joe Picco.
However, there was one place where he had thought for a couple years he could see himself, and that was with the Towanda Black Knights.
At Wednesday's meet the coach night at Towanda, the new Black Knights girls' coach told the players about a scrimmage between Waverly and Towanda a couple years back when he said he could see himself coaching that team one day.
That day is now as Picco will look to lead the Towanda program to new heights.
"I am really excited," Picco said. "I am excited they called me and asked me if I'd be interested. I'm excited with the fact that the girls seem to be all in."
The new coach can already see a bright future as a large number of girls, and their parents, came out on Wednesday night.
"Kids and parents," he said. "I think that speaks volumes of where they want this program to go. I hope the impact isn't only in soccer, but in life to. I hope I can have some impact on how they go about their lives, how they help their communities and how they become confident young women that not only lead our community, but probably our state and our country."
Most recently Picco was the boys' coach at Waverly, where he helped take a team that struggled for any wins, and turn them into one of the top teams in the IAC.
However, last year the numbers were low for boys' soccer at Waverly and the school didn't field a boys' team for the season.
That has now led Picco to Towanda, and he knows it will be different not being at Towanda.
"It was certainly difficult," Picco said. "Those people that know me in Waverly, Brian Meyers and I started a program with the girls probably 12 years ago and we worked tirelessly week in and week out, that's the true belief if you put the work in good things will come to the program. But, leaving Waverly, I have been red and white since I was a kid. It's going to be a little bit of a change being black and orange. I would not have wanted to do it with another school district other than Towanda."
Going to Towanda means leaving New York and the IAC and coming to the NTL and Pennsylvania, and Picco is ready for that challenge.
"It's exciting to venture out into new leagues, I am excited for this," Picco said. "The good thing is, this was Joe Picco's decision. I am flattered and humbled I was given this opportunity and that I'm in a position I can have these opportunities."
Picco has worked with a number of the girls in the past as he coaches travel ball in Vestal, and he's excited to coach the girls year round. He also knows the familiarity between him and the girls can help.
"It certainly does, it makes the ability for them to be able to transfer my expectations for them and makes the girls know about those type of things," Picco said. "It works the other way to. They have expectations of me knowing they have been around me before. I truly don't want to let them down.
"I think that is one of the reasons I was drawn to here (Picco said of working with some of his travel girls year round). I am hoping we get more of the youth of Towanda involved in our year round programs in the hopes we build what we want to build here with the support of the administration, the AD and the school board."
