About Head Coach Ozzie Parente

Ozzie Parente took over as the head coach in 2013 and has led Taft's varsity soccer team to four straight winning seasons. During those four years, Taft has compiled a record of 45-15-10, and in 2015 and 2016 the team earned berths in the Class A New England Tournament. In 2016, Ozzie led the team to a Founders League Championship and was named the 2016 Connecticut Large Prep School Coach of the Year. Ozzie currently holds a U.S. Soccer "E" Coaching License. Ozzie came to Taft in the fall of 2009 after graduating from Wesleyan University with a Bachelor’s Degree in molecular biology and biochemistry and later earned a Master's Degree in science education from Columbia University. While at Wesleyan, Ozzie was a four-year letter winner for varsity soccer and the team captain his senior year. During his freshman year, Wesleyan men’s soccer won the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship, and in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, the team earned bids to the Division III NCAA tournament. Ozzie earned Second Team Academic All-American and Academic All-NESCAC honors in both his junior and senior years. Ozzie played high school soccer at Hopkins School, where he was a four-year letter winner and the team captain his senior year. He was also named to the All-State Team for Connecticut during both his junior and senior years at Hopkins. He played club soccer with South Central Premier and with the Olympic Development Program (ODP) for the state of Connecticut. In addition to coaching soccer at Taft, Ozzie is the Dean of the Upper Middle Class and teaches chemistry. He has also coached basketball, softball, and track and field at Taft. He currently lives in the HDT Dormitory, where he has served as the dormitory head.

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