Aside from somewhere in eastern Europe, it's unlikely any soccer team or club has such a uniquely-named coaching combination as what's presently found in Bayfield:
Zelinski (now Zelinski-Moore) and, now, Zoltowski.
Two Zs, two -skis, and two brains always focused on the global game.
"Coach Z, she's got so much passion for this sport," said Chris Zoltowski last Friday afternoon outside Wolverine Country Stadium's main gate.
"I mean, she's like the icon of soccer in this community. When you think of soccer, you think of Zelinski. When you see her, she's ready to play anytime."
In addition to their Z-ski names, they both share a love of soccer.
"I've always had that passion. Every World Cup drives my wife crazy because I've got to get all the merchandise," he continued with a laugh.
"I played through school, and, you know, growing up in Texas, football's really big, especially where I'm from, and once you stop growing, you realize football might not be 'your' sport. From there ... I started to lean more towards soccer, and started to build that passion for it."
That's where the basic similarities between the longtime girls coach and the newest boys coach end. Zoltowski is from The Colony, Texas, and a 1994 graduate of L.D. Bell High School in Hurst, Texas.
"I didn't play collegiate ... not a collegiate star," he said.
"I went straight to the Army and I was in the 25th Infantry and the 101st Airborne. I was a staff sergeant, did a total of eight years. Staff sergeant, to even be eligible in six years and I got it in six, so I was like one of the fastest promotions. It's not known, so most people in the military, they'd be surprised to hear that, to have made that rank that fast."
In taking over for Dave Foster as the Wolverines' commanding general, Zoltowski hopes he and new assistant coach Zac Keeler can create and activate such drive within a program eager to succeed - a la the Wolverines girls. Unfortunately, the boys have just one actual victory in the last three seasons to show for their collective effort.
"I know these boys are excited; we've turned it up," said Zoltowski. "I think it's all in the dynamic of the team, and I believe in those boys. I've got to get them to believe in themselves. Ultimately, I'm really excited to start making things happen and start growing this program."
And that process began even before the season's first official practices did this week.
"The two-a-day week, we're going to be focusing a lot on cardio," he'd predicted. "I want this team to be conditioned to go the distance without stopping.
"I've had them play little scrimmages and stuff, and then I would assess where I thought some of the weaknesses are," he continued about the squad's informal summer work.
"What's real common, especially at this age group, is first touch, combination plays, passing. So I went in and assessed. Coach Keeler gives me his input and then we put things together, start fine-tuning all these little things.
"Also I'm getting excited about fundraising. We're already getting involved in things we can do together and help us unite. And I think once we set up that 'team' dynamic, that chemistry together, then we'll be doing good things."
The team will have a booth at the Bayfield Block Party on Thursday, Aug. 25.
Bayfield's 2016 schedule, however, will do its best to rattle the fellows right away.
Starting off against resistance from the re-named 3A Intermountain (formerly Southwestern) League, the Wolverines will travel to Telluride on Friday, Sept. 2, for a 4 p.m. kickoff, then visit Ridgway the next morning at 11.
Montezuma-Cortez then awaits on Sept. 6 (5 p.m. start), as will Alamosa on Sept. 9 (4 p.m.), before BHS competes on home grass for the first time at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13, versus defending circuit champs and state tournament quarterfinalists Pagosa Springs.
"I can see the away games being a little bit of an advantage because this is a whole new philosophy, a whole new program," Zoltowski said. "Having an away game might even lift the pressure for them a little bit. And also, having an overnight - that's our very first, Telluride-Ridgway - our first weekend is great because we're away from everybody, we can kind of unite as a family.
"I think what I'm looking forward to the most is just team development," he noted.
"In the Army, the definition of leadership is: The ability to influence others to accomplish a task, by giving them purpose, direction and motivation. These boys, that's all they need. These boys are so talented, they've played together their whole lives ... they need purpose, direction and motivation. With those three together, we're going to have a successful team."
Not only was Zoltowski confident in agreeing to instruct a struggling program, he'd been just as confident in initially moving to the Bayfield area without a clear plan of attack.
"I ended up getting out (of the service) and I met Rae Jean," he said of his wife.
"And after a few years of being together, we had our son, decided it was time to pack up and move out here. We were in Las Vegas, and when we moved out here, it just worked out really weird because neither one of us had jobs. We took the leap of faith!"
"Here we are, two mortgages and no jobs, and within three days, our home in Vegas sold. And within a week, she's already working - she was a stay-at-home mom in Vegas. So I decided, 'You know what? I've still got a little time left on my G.I. Bill, why don't I just knock that out?'
"So right now, I've got a little over a year left of school and I've got a 4.0. So that's what I'm kind of doing now - that and soccer.
"You know, from the moment I moved to Bayfield, I've been really excited," he continued. "I went to Mr. Dean and told him, 'I want to take over the soccer program.' He said, 'It's taken,' so I wanted to just help out in other areas of the athletic department - to get my face recognized and get known."
He joined cross country as the middle school coach, then assisted in high school wrestling.
"And then all of a sudden, I found out soccer opened, and I'm ready to go!"
