New coach knows Bremen tradition

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Dan Stell is a history teacher, but he doesn’t need a degree to understand the footsteps he’s following as the newest football coach at Bremen.

He’s walked alongside of them.

“Coach ‘D’ (John D’Ambrosio) was a little more old school,” Stell said. “He had such a great work ethic and an Italian swagger that, being Italian as well, I can appreciate. He was just a magnetic personality to be around.

“And John Casson ... we had some great runs. He worked really hard to develop a family atmosphere on the team. And he was high energy. I learned a lot from him.”

Stell is Bremen’s seventh football head coach since the program began in 1955. He was on a short list of candidates, according to Bremen athletic director Jim Matlon.

“We didn’t really open this up, per se, to the outside,” Matlon said. “We were looking to see what we had and went the direction we’ve typically gone, in-house.

“We feel like we groom a lot of great people around here. We’re thankful to John Casson and John D’Ambrosio for putting Dan in a position to be successful.”

D’Ambrosio coached at Bremen from 1984-2004. He guided the Braves to their first playoff appearance, in 1988, and went on to take 11 teams to the postseason. His 1990 and ’95 teams advanced to the Class 4A state quarterfinals.

Casson, a longtime assistant to D’Ambrosio, produced three playoff squads — one a quarterfinalist — and was 28-21 in his five seasons.

Stell, a 1993 Andrew graduate, was an assistant at Andrew for one season and the freshman coach at Providence for four. He joined D’Ambrosio’s staff for the latter’s final season at Bremen, and served as offensive coordinator during Casson’s term.

“Dan is an excellent motivator,” Matlon said. “Dan is one of those guys that kids gravitate to. In addition to that he has been an outstanding staff member here.

“I know that he was a great football coach, working as a coordinator. He will definitely guide us in that continued tradition we’ve had over here.”