'He was an incredible man': Libertyville High mourns longtime soccer coach Bitta
Andy Bitta, the legendary former head coach of the soccer programs at Libertyville High School, died Monday at his home in Libertyville after a long, courageous battle with Parkinson's disease.
Bitta, 69, enjoyed an incredible career helming both the boys and girls soccer teams, earning 13 trips to the state tournament — and twice lifting championship trophies, with another four second-place finishes.
He also served for several decades as the assistant coach for the Libertyville boys basketball team.
“I was absolutely heartbroken when I heard the news of coach Bitta's passing,” said Matt Sriver, who played three seasons for Bitta in the late 1990s in both soccer and basketball.
“He was an incredible man, who was humbled at times from the talent that came through his program from the Greater Libertyville Soccer Association — but would never take for granted that good fortune as he worked so hard to bring along those players into the program through hard work, and dedication to each other,” Sriver said.
Sriver credits Bitta for his decision to go into teaching and coaching.
Bitta was born in Danville and grew up in Mount Prospect, where he attended Prospect High School. He received his bachelor's degree and played on the basketball team at Western Illinois University.
He began coaching in 1978 and finished with 455 career victories on the boys side and 310 with the girls program. He retired in 2017.
Bitta would later be named to the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association and Lake County Hall of Fame in 2001, which prompted several tributes from fellow coaches and longtime friends in the sport.
“Andy was a great human and coach — on and off the field, who will be missed by so many that knew him,” said Gerardo Pagani, a current assistant coach at Fremd, and former head coach at Hoffman Estates and Fremd.
Pagani is also in the IHSSCA Hall of Fame, along with coaches Norm Hillner and Mike Taylor, both of whom spoke warmly of Bitta.
“Andy was a great guy, and an even better representative of the good things about high school sports, the IHSA, and IHSSCA, who became a well-serving Hall of Fame coach,” said Hillner, the longtime head coach at Lake Park who also served as the president of the IHSSCA for six terms.
Taylor agreed.
“Andy Bitta was an absolute great man, and gentleman, who we always looked forward to playing while I was at St. Viator, and would always have his teams organized, prepared, and ready to play,” Taylor said.
Bitta would coach both of his sons, Andy and Austin, as members of the Wildcats' 2010 state runner-up team that lost to Rockford Boylan, 3-2, in overtime.
“I knew Andy for nearly 50 years, and he was a great ambassador for the game, a terrific family man,” said Al Beard, who was Bitta's assistant on that 2010 team. “(He) was totally dedicated to both soccer and basketball, and it was my pleasure and honor to work alongside (him) for 15 years while at Libertyville High School,”
The Libertyville girls soccer team paid tribute to the legendary coach Tuesday by displaying “Bitta” on their wrists during their 4-3 sectional semifinal overtime victory over Hersey.
Visitation for Bitta will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Burnett-Dane Funeral Home in Libertyville. It will be followed by a service at 1 p.m.