When the next school year begins in the fall, something that hasn’t happened at Springstead since the late ‘70s will occur. Bob Levija won’t be there.
At 65, Levija will retire from teaching, leaving behind a lasting legacy as the Eagles’ original wrestling coach and the athletic director who oversaw a seismic shift in the school’s athletic fortunes across the board.
“He definitely brought his demeanor of ‘I want to win’ into every sport,” said former Springstead wrestler and current head wrestling coach Mike LaRocca.
A Chicago native, Levija arrived at Springstead in the fourth year of its existence, 1979-80, as an assistant football coach. But it wasn’t a fit; he said he spent that first year searching for a new job.
“Springstead was not a nice place when I started,” Levija said. “It was all kids from up north who didn’t want to be in Spring Hill.”
But he ended up sticking around for parts of the next four decades. To put that in perspective, his early students at Springstead would now qualify as senior citizens.
Five years ago, Levija entered the Deferred Retirement Option Program, setting him on the path to depart this spring. That doesn’t mean reaching this point hasn’t stirred up some emotions.
“When you’ve been with Springstead for 37 years, it’s kind of melancholy. I’m kind of sad about retiring,” Levija said. “I’ve worked with a lot of good kids, coaches and administrators. It’s going to be an adjustment.”
Frustrated with the football coaches at the time, in his third year at Springstead Levija started up a wrestling program. He held the post until 2002, accumulating a 318-30-1 record in dual meets, 18 district titles and five regional crowns. The team finished top three in the state three times.
In 2007, Levija was inducted into the Florida Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
“It took a lot of effort,” Levija said. “We had to convince the kids that Springstead could win because Springstead had never won at anything. We got the wrestlers to buy into it and through hard work we started gaining success and more success and it got really contagious.”
He ranked coaching his son, Kevin, from 1987-90 as the greatest highlight of his time as wrestling mentor. But there’s another former grappler, Tim Speer, whom Levija embraced as a son and whose story exhibits the type of above-and-beyond effort Levija put into his job.
With Speer living out of his car as a sophomore, Levija took him in on what was supposed to be a temporary basis. It didn’t work out that way.
“He’s been a part of the family ever since,” Levija said. “He’s like Kevin’s brother and he’s like my son.”
LaRocca wrestled under Levija in the late ‘90s before returning as an assistant coach during the team’s run of three straight state championships from 2011-13. He became head coach this past season.
“Coach is a no-nonsense person and if you want a straight answer, you’ll get it from Bob Levija. He’s not one to shift away from what he thinks to appease anybody,” LaRocca said. “You might not like his answer, but he’s going to give you the most honest opinion he can.”
Levija had a particular credo in those days, one LaRocca said he still uses today: Nothing works unless you do. It was the work Levija put into the program that built the Eagles into a nationally recognized squad.
“He gave so much and believed in the kids that wrestled, so they didn’t want to give up on him,” LaRocca said. “He built it from nothing. He was old school and it was a brawling style. He took the basics and worked the basics over and over again.
“He treated you tough, but he had a soft side, too. If he saw a kid in need, he’d do whatever he could to get that kid taken care of.”
When Levija was first interviewed for the AD position, he was asked what he wanted to do. His response, “I said turn our girls programs around and they thought that was a joke.”
But results prove that was more than lip service. A volleyball program that experienced a losing streak of more than 50 matches in the early 2000s went to the Sweet 16 in 2011 and has finished .500 or better for eight straight seasons.
Girls soccer and softball have consistently been among the most competitive programs in the area, and this year came what Levija called a nice going-away present. The girls basketball team posted its first winning season since 1992-93, set a school record for wins and advanced to regionals for the first time as a district runner-up.
Springstead’s teams have all showed a marked improvement. The baseball, boys soccer, football and softball teams have all advanced to regional finals, while the boys basketball team was a state runner-up in 2009.
Just this spring, the Eagles collected district crowns in baseball, softball and boys tennis. Every one of the school’s athletic programs have enjoyed some measure of postseason success in recent years.
“We got in good coaches,” Levija said. “Our expectation at Springstead is that our coaches had to be above reproach. Not only be good coaches but good people.”
Springstead has taken pride in stressing high character, and to that end Levija pointed to when the school won a 2009-10 Fred E. Rozelle Sportsmanship award from the FHSAA as his proudest accomplishment.
“That was really unbelievable to me because that’s not anything to do with me,” Levija said. “It takes all our coaches, all our kids, all our fans to accomplish that.”
Assistant football coach Dustin Kupcik will replace Levija as AD and has spent the past few months learning under his predecessor.
“It’s exciting. Overwhelming at times. It’s hectic. But mostly I’m just kind of excited. He’s been here so long and done so much, and he’s been doing such a great job,” Kupcik said. “He’s really made the transition very easy. But it is a little weird.
“He’s really done a lot for Springstead and he’s really done a lot for our athletic programs. But he’s also done so much for how the county treats athletics.”
Kupcik credits Levija with legitimizing Springstead as a high school and its athletic programs, and wants to continue to build on that foundation.
“He’ll bring enthusiasm and hard work. He’ll do a better job than I’ll do,” Levija said. “I’m a dinosaur with computers and he’s tech smart. That’ll go far with athletics. So he will do a super job.”
Still, Levija figures to be around. He certainly plans to do something productive with his time, and Kupcik doesn’t want to see him disappear.
“I want to make Springstead a better place. I want to make Springstead athletics the best in the area. But I also want Springstead to be a leader for change. I want Springstead to lead. I want Springstead to make a difference and I think that’s what Bob did,” Kupcik said. “He’s on the speed dial. I’m sure I’ll be calling him weekly, especially early on. He’s really kind of shown me the way, especially over the past couple of months.
“Secondly, he knows he’s welcome anywhere, any time.”
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter @cpbernhardtjr