Staples Soccer Mourns Loss Of Trumbull Coach Sebe Gangemi
The FCIAC has lost a legendary soccer coach.
Trumbull High School coach Sebastian “Sebe” Gangemi died Wednesday, of complication from leukemia. He was diagnosed with the disease just over a year ago.
The Wreckers and Eagles had many great battles during Sebe’s 14 years as head of the Trumbull program. Typical was last fall’s FCIAC semifinal. The Eagles edged Staples 1-0 on penalty kicks. Sebe coached the game, just a couple of hours after receiving chemo treatment in New Haven.
Wrecker coaches Dan Woog, Kurt Dasbach and Tom Henske greeted Sebe with hugs on the sideline before the match. Sebe reached into a bag, and presented all 3 with t-shirts from a game held a couple of weeks previously, in his honor. It was a fundraiser for leukemia research.
The Eagles went on to win the FCIAC championship, in a down-to-the-wire battle with Danbury. It was his 4th FCIAC crown.
Woog said: “We never liked playing Trumbull — but we loved it. We always knew we were in for a battle. Sebe’s teams always gave us everything they had. And Sebe was always there on the sideline, smiling and laughing. That’s the magic of soccer, and the joy of high school soccer. We will miss him tremendously.”
In the tight-knit FCIAC soccer coaches’ fraternity, Sebe was one of the friendliest, most popular coaches. “And not only,” Woog added, “because he always brought homemade limoncello to our meetings.”
Sebe’s many fans can pay their respects on Tuesday (May 21), from 3 to 8 p.m. at Abriola Parkview Funeral Home, 419 White Plains Road in Trumbull.
Sebe Gangemi (Photo courtesy of The Ruden Report)
