NA's Schwarz hanging up his cleats after season

Thirty-five years ago, the North Allegheny superintendent told German teacher Bruno Schwarz he could start a varsity boys' soccer program — provided he could do it for less than $1,000.

"We bought uniforms, balls and nets — and paid my salary — for under $1,000," Schwarz said. "I don't think you could do that today."

Schwarz has done a lot of things that will never be repeated.

The winningest boys soccer coach in Pennsylvania history will begin his season at North Allegheny at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Newman Stadium, when the Tigers play host to Fox Chapel in a rematch of their 2001 WPIAL Class AAA first-round playoff game.

Schwarz, 62, who has won more than 500 games since those humble beginnings, is retiring as a German teacher and soccer coach at the end of the 2002-03 year.

While news of his impending retirement was the soccer community's worst-kept secret, Schwarz officially told his players before a practice last week.

"Most of us already knew," senior midfielder Kevin Fives said. "But it was still kind of a shock."

The man known as "Herr Schwarz" will leave behind a legacy. He is 503-162-45 in 34 years, with seven WPIAL titles and one PIAA championship. His 503 wins ranks seventh in the nation, according to the National High School Sports Record Book.

Schwarz is a four-time Trib North Boys Soccer Coach of the Year — no one else has won the award more than once — and was named the 2001 National High School Boys Soccer Coach of the Year.

In the spring of 1999, a soccer field in North Park was named Schwarz Field.

"Bruno has the respect of anyone who has anything to do with soccer," Seneca Valley coach George Williams said. "He's a great man."

The soft-spoken Schwarz has overseen the growth of western Pennsylvania soccer from its infancy to its current level. There were eight soccer teams in the WPIAL when he convinced North Allegheny to form the program. When the season starts Friday, there will be a record-high 106.

"Bruno is one of the driving forces for the development of the game in western Pennsylvania at all levels," said Gene Klein, who has won six PIAA Class AA titles at Quaker Valley. "He was years ahead of his time in the way he trained his teams. He has always been very sophisticated in his knowledge and analysis and ideas about the game. He has set the standard for all of us."

Schwarz has the rare ability to pile up wins while still holding the respect of his peers.

"North Allegheny is always the big, bad team that you want to beat," Williams said. "But before the game Bruno will walk over with a big smile on his face and talk to you for a while and then you go out and play. He doesn't come across as having some kind of air about him. He's very classy."

Schwarz, elected into the Western Pennsylvania Hall of Fame in 2000, does more than win games. He has coached Olympic Development Program teams and was the first head coach of the Pittsburgh Spirit indoor soccer team in 1978. He runs year-round youth camps and coaching clinics.

"Soccer is Bruno's life," said coach Sal Marsico of rival North Hills.

North Allegheny, which returns all-state goalkeeper Brian Levey from a 15-4-2 team, wants to give Schwarz a suitable going-away present.

"We're working hard," Fives said. "We want to make sure that he goes out on a good note."

North Allegheny's Bruno Schwarz is retiring at the end of the season. Here are some of his accomplishments: