Fort Myers High School celebrates Sam Siranni Jr.'s historic career

Fort Myers High School honored its longtime head coach, Sam Sirianni Jr., with a retirement ceremony Thursday night. The event brought together former players, coaches, students and opposing coaches to celebrate his impactful four-decade career.

Sam Sirianni Jr. spent 40 years at Fort Myers High School, taking over the program in 2002 from his father, Sam Sirianni Sr.

“My dad had one of these, and my sister, who is the mastermind of this, and I knew it was coming, and maybe not to this extent. But I kind of got what I deserved because I laughed at my dad the night they surprised me because I got this trait from him,” said Sirianni Jr.

In over 20 years leading the Green Wave, Sirianni Jr. achieved 175 wins and 14 district titles. The Siranni's are the only father-son duo in the state to win more than 150 games in their careers as the two led the Greenies for over 57 years.

“We were fortunate. We had great players. We had a lot of success, you know, on the scoreboard,” said Sirianni Jr.

However, Sirianni Jr. emphasized that he will miss the relationships he built more than the games.

“The time we spent on road trips and in the office, and the preparation and afterwards, when the kids and seeing their success outside of school, that’s what I remember. Yeah, I’ll remember games. We’ll have selective memory on the good ones, as opposed to the bad ones, but it’s more about the relationships. As I said, I could write a book, and it would have very little to do with the field,” said Sirianni Jr.

When asked about his legacy, Sirianni Jr. expressed his hopes for how he will be remembered.

“Hopefully people remember that I love this school. I'll always love this school. I was blessed, you know I was blessed and fortunate to be here all my life. And I just hope that kids that left here you know thought I gave them something to them that would help them in life more than as a coach or anything like that,” said Sirianni Jr.

With tears in his eyes during the ceremony, Sirianni Jr. acknowledged the significance of the night.

“It’s a lot of great memories you know it’ll be a night I always remember,” said Sirianni Jr.

Sirianni Jr. will be the grand marshal of the Edison Festival of Light Parade next month.