Downers Grove South High School Names Four New Head Coaches

The athletic department at Downers Grove South High School has selected four new head coaches to serve its football, girls soccer, boys golf and girls track programs.

Taking over as head football coach for the Mustangs is Mark Molinari, a career and technical services teacher at South High. He has 15 years of football coaching experience at the high school level, 13 of which have been at South High. He has served as the varsity defense coordinator for the past seven years.

Molinari has also been a coach for baseball programs at Naperville Central and Lockport High School, as well as the football program at Lockport High School.

“Winning in our program will be a by-product of doing things the right way,” Molinari said in a press release. “There are no short-cuts in life or in football, and we will continue to teach our players to work hard and exhibit good sportsmanship and discipline.”

Molinari replaces John Belskis, who was inducted into the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame and won a state championship in 2001. Belskis is retiring after 21 years of coaching.

Starting next spring, the South girls soccer team will be coached by Abby Anderson, a teacher in the special services department. Her previous coaching experience includes serving as the freshman boys soccer coach at Hinsdale South High School, the assistant women’s soccer coach at Saint Xavier University and the junior varsity girls soccer coach at Mother McAuley High School in Chicago. She also serves as a head coach and trainer for the United Soccer Academy.

“I hope to instill confidence, pride, integrity and responsibility into our players,” Anderson said in a release. “Part of my role as a coach is to not only develop better soccer players, but more importantly, successful young women.”

Taking over the girls track program is Egle Staisiunaite, a 2007 graduate of South High who recently earned a degree in kinesiology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

At South, Staisiunaite was part of the women’s track and field team from 2007 to 2011. During this time, she also participated in international competitions as a member of the Lithuanian National Track and Field Team, including the European Championships and the London 2012 Olympics.

“I believe that athletes who work hard and dedicate numerous hours in their sport can call themselves winners,” Staisiunaite said of her philosophy on winning.

Rounding out the appointments is guidance counselor Terry Tiesman, who will serve as the new head coach of the boys golf team. He has served as the sophomore boys golf coach since 2009, according to district officials.

His experience also includes coaching high school basketball, tennis and soccer teams for both boys and girls. 

“We will work to develop student-athletes both personally and athletically to reach their highest level of play, and to carry those lessons into daily living,” Tiesman said in a release.

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