Mike D'Aloisio, Elmira's winningest high school football coach, dies at 71

Elmira has lost a coaching legend whose win total on the gridiron is far exceeded by the number of people he impacted with his leadership, helping hand and inspiring words.

Mike D'Aloisio, the winningest high school football coach in Elmira history, died Sunday at age 71.

He had been hospitalized in recent weeks with an illness and was diagnosed in the summer of 2020 with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), an incurable disease of the progressive nervous system. Notre Dame High School announced his death Monday afternoon on its Facebook page, adding D'Aloisio's "legacy will remain a constant in the community."

Survivors include his wife of nearly 33 years, Jayne D'Aloisio.

D'Aloisio was born Jan. 15, 1951 at St. Joseph's Hospital in Elmira, the son of Michael and Josephine D'Aloisio. He was a standout athlete at Elmira Free Academy and graduated from there in 1969 before attending SUNY Cortland, where he played football.

Over 38 seasons, D'Aloisio coached the Notre Dame football team to a record of 244-103. He also had great success as a basketball and golf coach.

D'Aloisio, an Elmira resident, held numerous full-time jobs at Notre Dame after starting there in 1976. That included physical education teacher, health teacher, math teacher, biology teacher, athletic director and assistant principal. He retired in 2014 but continued to coach through the 2019 football season, stepping down because of myriad physical ailments.

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Coaching success went beyond wins

D'Aloisio was varsity football coach at Notre Dame from 1981 to 2019, taking a year off in 2001 to recharge his batteries. The Crusaders won 19 division titles and five Section 4 championships during his tenure.

The 1998 team lost in overtime in the Class C state championship game and the 1990 team won an intersectional title, effectively becoming co-state champions at a time before there was a state tournament. The Crusaders made it to the state final four in 2008. D'Aloisio coached Notre Dame to Section 4 and intersectional titles in its first season of eight-man football in 2018.

Notre Dame also enjoyed great success in boys basketball with D'Aloisio as coach. His teams compiled a 258-140 record and won three Section 4 championships, with the 2006 squad advancing to the Class C state final four.

D'Aloisio coached END's varsity girls from 2015-16 to 2017-18, compiling a 43-17 record and winning the Interscholastic Athletic Conference Large School title in his first season.

Other highlights included 72 consecutive dual-meet wins for varsity golf teams coached by D'Aloisio. His teams won Section 4 titles in 2013, 2015 and 2016.

Players carried lessons past high school

D'Aloisio deflected the accolades that came with his coaching success to his players and assistant coaches. He in turn encouraged players to stay humble and give credit to their teammates during postgame interviews.

After D'Aloisio's diagnosis, many former players discussed his impact on their lives, including Mike Bennett, a former football standout at END who is now a baseball coach and administrator at Thomas A. Edison.

"The main thing was the excellence that he expected from us and would accept nothing less," Bennett said. "That really is something I bought into not just as an athlete, but as a person. There was an expectation from coach and he lived up to that expectation. How he could raise you up spiritually and athletically as an athlete and a person just was something that drew me to wanting to do the same thing for youth when I became an adult."

Geoff Woodworth was part of the 1990 intersectional champion team.

"He was the type of guy that could relate to us as high school football players, but also be the kind of figure that taught us a lot of life lessons," Woodworth said of D'Aloisio in 2020. "Work ethic, determination, never give up and all that stuff. At the same time he got it across to us in a way high school kids would listen to him."

Special bond with Joel Stephens

Nearly 20 student-athletes coached or taught by D'Aloisio died young, a series of tragedies that greatly impacted him. The list included Ernie Davis Award winners Brad Polk and multisport star Joel Stephens, one of the top rushers in Section 4 history, who died in 1998 of colon cancer at age 22.

When D'Aloisio announced his ALS diagnosis, he said those deaths impacted his approach toward winning.

"It was giving your best effort and making a positive contribution to our world and being good to people," D'Aloisio said of his coaching priorities. "Help others and be there for others."

From 2016: Joel Stephens' impact remains strong

D'Aloisio was extremely close with Stephens and was by his side when Stephens died in the fall of 1998. In the years that followed, D'Aloisio spread the message of faith and selflessness that defined Stephens.

When he was able, D'Aloisio visited every day the monument at Notre Dame that features a statue of Stephens. He visited Stephens' gravesite in Tioga, Pennsylvania, at least twice a month.

D'Aloisio teamed with Stephens' parents, Ron and Joyce, to create the Joel Stephens 5C Award in 1998 to honor high school football players from the region who exemplified Stephens' character on and off the field. The award goes to regional student-athletes outside of Chemung County, an accompaniment to the Chemung County-focused Ernie Davis Award.

D'Aloisio wrote a 2009 book chronicling Stephens' courage entitled "5C Hero: The Joel Stephens Story." D'Aloisio kept extra copies he handed out.

"He's still touching people even though he's been gone 18 years. His story and legacy live on," D'Aloisio said in a 2016 interview.

That was largely because of D'Aloisio, who teared up each time he shared stories about Stephens. D'Aloisio eloquently spoke of Stephens in December when he gave out the 2021 Stephens Award to Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour's Cameron Holland, Corning's Lucas Zawko and Canton's Caiden Williams.

He also talked about former Elmira Free Academy great Ernie Davis, who won the Heisman Trophy at Syracuse University in 1961, two years before he died of leukemia.

"I'm so fortunate because growing up in fourth and fifth grade I got to throw the football around with Ernie Davis and shoot baskets with him at the old Parker Field and the Neighborhood House," D'Aloisio told the gathering. "And I had the pleasure of coaching Joel Stephens. Outside of my parents, I don't know of two people who had more of an influence and impact on my life, trying to be the person I am."

Support in ALS battle meant a great deal

D'Aloisio dealt with multiple physical issues late in life, including two knee surgeries and painful foot drop that made it difficult for him to stand for long periods. Other physical issues led him to see multiple neurologists. He was finally diagnosed with ALS on July 29, 2022, which was his 31st wedding anniversary.

He described the diagnosis as "a bad dream" but remained resolute to push forward, with the help of prayer, his wife and family, and a great deal of community support.

Weeks after he announced the diagnosis publicly, the deeply Catholic D'Aloisio said he was humbled by "a stack of cards over a foot high" that was accompanied by rosaries, crosses, gift cards and other cards.

"But all I really want are prayers that all are sending to me," D'Aloisio said. He added, "I will continue to persevere and fight on."

In the fall of 2020, D'Aloisio was asked about his legacy.

"I hope I gave the kids from my coaching the world’s two greatest commodities: my time and myself," he said. "And I tried to do that and I tried to be a friend."

More: Mike D'Aloisio's obituary

Celebration of D'Aloisio's life

A Mass celebrating D'Aloisio's life is scheduled for noon June 1 at Notre Dame High School's Charles and Mary Crossed Auditorium. A private burial will be held at St. Peter and Paul's Cemetery.

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Elmira Notre Dame coaching great Mike D'Aloisio dies