Ziter Steps Down from Taconic Football Program

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- After seven seasons at the helm of the Taconic High School football program, Jim Ziter is stepping down.

 

Ziter, who has been involved in youth and high school football in the area for more than 20 years, inherited a program that won one game in his first year, 2013, and went to back-to-back sectional finals in 2015 and 2016.

 

His team won the Western Mass final in 2016, the first sectional title at the school in 42 years.

 

"His leadership as a coach and mentor to our students has truly made a difference in our athletics Program,” said Jim Abel, athletic director of Pittsfield Public Schools. “We are very grateful for Coach Ziter’s dedication, and the role he has played in the new era of athletic and academic excellence that Taconic has entered in recent years.”

 

In addition to the 2016 sectional title, Ziter led Taconic to three post-season appearances and four straight Pittsfield City Championships, capturing that title from 2016-2019.

 

“This certainly was not an easy decision to make," Ziter said in a news release announcing his departure. “I’ve been fortunate to coach some great kids, work with some great people, and I am very proud of the success we’ve experienced at Taconic.”

 

“I love the game of football, and I truly enjoy being a part of teaching the game. The work that the coaching staff has to put into it, along with how hard the kids work and play, are roles and responsibilities of coaching football that are enjoyable – but that are also significant."

 

Ziter's departure from the Taconic varsity program comes on the heels of his promotion to Captain in the Pittsfield Fire Department.

 

“The way things have unfolded related to coaching, my profession, and my family, I just felt it was the appropriate time to step down”, he Ziter. “Coaching at this level is a labor of love, and a big commitment. It became a reality that it would be impossible, and unfair, to try to fulfill what is expected of me, and of what I expect of myself, in the roles I play.”

 

In addition to the wins he earned on the field, Ziter oversaw the transition of Taconic's football program from its on-campus natural turf field to the artificial turf surface at Berkshire Community College.

 

He said the new facility a short distance from the Taconic campus has been a "difference maker" for the school's athletic programs.

 

Last season, Taconic went 3-5 in the regular season, winning two of its last three games, including a 30-18 win over rival PHS.

 

“The cupboards are not bare at Taconic," Ziter said. “We’ve got some excellent athletes in that building. It’s just a matter of them realizing their potential before they graduate. It’s a good time to be a Taconic Brave."

 

Interested applicants are required to submit letter of interest, resume, and references online via the “Job Openings” link at www.pittsfield.net.