Simsbury girls basketball coach Sam Zullo, who had a bittersweet season last winter after he lost his mother but then won the school’s first girls basketball title, has resigned from his position to spend more time with his family.
Simsbury won its first state championship in girls basketball in Class L in the program’s first appearance at Mohegan Sun, 55-40, over Holy Cross.
On the same weekend, his father Jim, a long-time coach in upstate New York, coached his girls basketball team to the state championship game but lost.
Zullo’s mom Linda, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer last year, encouraged her husband, who was retired, to take a coaching job so he would have something to do, and made her son promise he would not miss any games because of her. Sam drove back and forth from Connecticut to upstate New York at the end but did not miss a game. Linda died Jan. 14.
“It’s tough,” Sam Zullo said. “It doesn’t feel real. I almost did this last year. As magical as the run was, and it’s really nice to tell the story that my mom wanted me to go to games… she said that because it was her last self-sacrifice, but it’s not something that sits well with me.
Simsbury wins its first girls basketball state title 55-40 over Holy Cross in Class L #ctgb pic.twitter.com/VhH0zTFUVv
— Lori Riley (@lrileysports) March 16, 2024
“My dad is in his 80s. I don’t want to be in that situation again. I want to go spend time with him; I want my kids to see him.”
Zullo said his job changed from working from home to going into an office before last season, so he had to have practices later at night. He and his wife have three children. He was also involved in youth leagues and travel basketball in Simsbury to grow the game in town.
“Think about the situation that puts my wife in and I want to see my kids,” he said.
Over 11 years, Zullo had a 176-74 record. Two of his top players, Amanda Gallagher and Olivia Jarvis, are graduating.
“We had a decent run,” he said. “There’s a lot of good players coming up which is exciting. I feel good about that.”
A basketball coaching family, dealing with grief, aims at New York and Connecticut state titles