Paul Garvey, Loyola’s cross country and track and field coach, unexpectedly resigned Monday, citing the difficulty of working two jobs, according to athletic director Jerry Hernandez. Garvey was in the middle of coaching his fourth season.

Garvey, who led the women’s cross country team to nationals last year and the men’s this year, is a full-time English teacher at Ursuline Academy.

“He was upset. He didn’t want to stop coaching here,” said Hernandez, who admitted he was shocked by the resignation. “We’d talked about it a little in the fall, and he said it was getting hard having two jobs.”

Program members say they understand that Garvey could not devote his full attention to the team.

“I didn’t believe it at first because it was very out of character for him,” said history junior Mike Gulotta, who is captain of both men’s sports. “But once I found out about the facts and everything, I couldn’t bring myself to get mad at him.”

Gulotta credits Garvey for continually motivating him, even after running a bad race. Were it not for Garvey, Gulotta might not be running at all today.

“Freshmen year I had a serious hamstring injury and was still adjusting to college life. [Garvey] kept my spirits up even though I was a huge head-case. If not for him, I might have quit running. If I had been at another school where the coach didn’t pay as much attention to the players individually, they might have treated me as an outcast and kept going, but he certainly kept my head straight.”

Garvey, who graduated from Loyola in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and returned as a coach in 1999, said he did not want to go into detail about his resignation.

“I wish the Loyola athletic department and the track and cross country teams the best of luck in the future,” he said. “Other than that, I have no comment.”

For this spring’s track season, the team will be under the care of what Gulotta called a “moderator.” The moderator, someone Hernandez hopes to have by next week, will handle the logistical aspects of the team rather than coaching.

“As far as a team leader, I’ll do what I can to fill that void that [Garvey] left,” said Gulotta. “But everyone will basically be responsible for themselves.”

Hernandez said he and the school will conduct a search in the spring in hopes of finding a long-term coach. That coach would take over next fall.

Garvey has not completely ended his relationship with his former teams, said Hernandez. He has offered his assistance to the team in terms of recruiting and scheduling.

“He’s a good person. He has not turned his back on the kids,” he said.

Overall, Gulotta said he and his teammates would remember their time with Garvey fondly.

“I miss Coach. He’s been there for me and taken care of me in a lot of ways. He should be remembered as a coach who wanted to produce a complete person, not just a runner.”

(Photo courtesy of Loyola)