LHS soccer coach Andy Bitta had impressive record
• The following is part of an ongoing series of articles in celebration of Libertyville High School's 100th anniversary.
Andy Bitta began Libertyville High School soccer programs for the boys in 1978 and the girls in 1982. He has taken his teams to the heights of the Illinois soccer world, including state championships for both programs.
Coach Bitta grew up in Mount Prospect, graduating from Prospect High School in 1972. He played basketball for four years at Prospect High and two years of baseball. He graduated from Western Illinois University, where he majored in history education with a health education minor. He played two years of basketball at WIU.
Coach Bitta came to Libertyville High School in the fall of 1978 to teach health education. He coached 31 years of boys soccer at LHS, 1978-98 and 2007-16. His coaching record during those 31 years is 455-145-55. His teams won 14 regional titles and nine sectional titles, and made four state tournament appearances. His teams took second in the state in 1986 and 2010. His 2015 team won the state championship with a 2-1 win over Quincy.
Both of Coach Bitta's sons played soccer for him at LHS. His oldest, Andrew, was an LHS 2011 grad and an All-State goalie. His youngest son, Austin, was an LHS 2013 grad. He was an All-State forward and played four years of soccer at Carthage College, where he was a 2016 All-American.
Coaching honors for Bitta include the Illinois State Soccer Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Lake County High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
Coach Bitta was the girls head soccer coach for 21 years (1982-99 and 2014-16). His coaching record for the girls program was 310-77-26. His teams won nine regional titles and eight sectionals titles, and made nine state tournament appearances.
His 1996 team placed third in the state. His 1989 and 1990 teams took second in the state. His 1991 team won the state championship.
Coach Bitta was the 20-year varsity boys basketball assistant coach for Max Sanders (1980-99). During this time, the boys basketball team won five regional titles and three sectionals titles, qualifying for the state tournament twice, and placing fourth in the state in 1991.
After retiring from teaching following the 2011 school year, coach Bitta continued to coach LHS soccer for six years, finally stepping down after the fall 2016 boys season due to health reasons.
He stays close the LHS soccer program, as his son Andrew is the current sophomore coach in both the boys and girls programs.