When Whitman’s Varsity Football team takes the field under the lights on September 9th for the first game of the season at home against Longwood, there will be a new voice leading the charge, though it’s a face the program knows well. After 13 seasons as defensive coordinator, Coach Ralph Milazzo officially stepped into the head coaching role this season following the retirement of Coach Robin Rosa. 

“I'm excited and honored for this opportunity,” said Coach Milazzo. “I have a lot of pride in this community and am proud of how hard these guys have worked. We're looking forward to a great season.”

Coach Milazzo has been part of Whitman football since 2012 when he started as a volunteer assistant coach. That same year, he began teaching at Walt Whitman High School as a sub. Although he left South Huntington to teach at Harborfields for a year, he stayed with Wildcat football as Defensive Coordinator, and ultimately returned to teach at Whitman. 

“I've done a bunch of different roles at Whitman in terms of teaching and coaching other sports. On the football program, I've coached the defense, linebackers, DBs, wide receivers, and special teams. I've done it all,” said Coach Milazzo.  That includes playing football at Half Hollow Hills East where he went to school. “I wouldn't say I was the best player, but I was always interested in coaching.”

Now, as he takes over as Head Coach at Whitman, with the help of Assistant Coaches Michael Buck, Brian Monteleone, Corey Knabb, and Christopher Olberdring, he wants to build on the foundation laid down by Coach Rosa that put Whitman in the playoffs for six straight years and led to a Suffolk County Championship in 2021. We spoke with Coach Milazzo about his new role. Answers have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Q&A 

What do you love about Whitman football?  
Coach Milazzo: “I love the pride in the community. I love that we can be competitive in such a tough division with the players we have. It comes down to the hard work of the kids and this coaching staff. Coach Buck is the offensive coordinator. Now we have Coach Knabb and Coach Monteleone moving up from JV to join the varsity staff. They went 5-3 both years coaching JV. I want to continue that tradition that we have going. I talk to other coaches and they say, ‘I don't know how you guys do it at Whitman’ because you can see that maybe we don’t have the biggest guys, maybe not the biggest team, but we are always competitive and always take care of business, and we've established that reputation of being a team that overachieves, and we want to keep making that happen.” 

When Coach Rosa decided to retire, did you know that stepping into the head coaching role was what you wanted?
Coach Milazzo:  “Yeah, I had aspirations of being the head coach for a long time. I take a lot of pride in this program and what we've done over the last 14 to 15 years, growing it from where it was to where it is now. We've made the playoffs six straight years, which was unheard of for Whitman football when I started. We were able to win a county championship and reach another. Maintaining that program and giving back to this community was something I always wanted to do.” 

Your interest in coaching began when you were a player? 
Coach Milazzo:  “My coach at Hills East mentored me by showing me how to break down film, look at schemes, and game plan. He was actually the defensive coordinator at Whitman in 2012 when I came over, and when he left for another school, I replaced him the next year. I went to Post and followed the team there. I'm a football junkie when it comes to X's and O's and film.  And I'm the worst person to watch games with because I'll go over everything, pause it, and look back while people just want to watch the game. I'll watch old film of games and coaches I like to steal stuff from. Because I'm focused on the defense, I'll skip the offensive parts and focus strictly on what the defense is doing. I love it.”

How would you describe your coaching style?  
Coach Milazzo:  “I can be intense. I'm just trying to stay as organized as I can and be as efficient as I can. We have 15 through 17-year-olds. I teach high school every single day. I know their attention span is probably not even 20 minutes, 20 seconds long. So the more that we can get in and out of our drills and get in and out of our different periods of practice and then get them out of here, the better it is for this generation of kids. And that's really something that just maybe I differ a little bit from Coach Rosa on. And it's something that hopefully if we take care of business, it's going to make sure that we are fresh come game day, where we don't have to have 2-and-a-half hour practices every single day, where now their legs are fresh, their bodies are fresh, and we're in the right mindset to go play. We model our practices after college and NFL programs. We move rapidly between 15-to 20-minute periods, eliminate long water breaks, and do fast-paced, game-simulated drills. We want to play fast without huddling, so practice pace has to reflect that.”

What makes Division 1 so tough to play in?  
Coach Milazzo: “It's the hardest division on the island. We play big schools with massive rosters and historic programs like William Floyd, Ward Melville, Longwood, and Sachem North. It’s a lot of what we call smash-mouth power football. Because we don't have that size, we use our athleticism and speed to spread teams out into space. It's a physical grind, so we do a lot of scheming and game planning to take advantage of our strengths.”  

What should fans look for this season?  
Coach Milazzo:  “A team that battles and is exciting to watch. We run an explosive, college-style spread offense and we are going to take advantage of whatever the defense gives us. So if they are really heavy inside stopping the run, we're going to throw it outside and get it out to our receivers.” 

What do you want to say to those fans in the stands at Wildcat Stadium?  
Coach Milazzo:  “They are our biggest supporters. The crowd support helps the guys push through tough situations. And we really can't thank them enough for packing this great stadium that we have now. We thank the parents, the community, and the students. We're hoping to get a really great student section this year, and the guys have already come up with themes for the games. Every single home game this year is going to have a dedicated theme night, which the players love.”  
So Wildcat football fans, come out and show the team your support on September 9th by packing the stands wearing WHITE, and on September 25th by dressing up in your best WESTERN gear!  Here's wishing Coach Milazzo and the team an outstanding, winning season ahead!