Jul. 16—CUMBERLAND — Any 30-year habit is hard to quit cold turkey — coaching soccer isn’t an exception.
While he plans on sticking around the program at some capacity for at least the upcoming season, Fort Hill boys head soccer coach Jim Hott announced his retirement on Thursday morning after a 20-plus year stint at the school.
“I’ve been thinking about it the last couple of years,” Hott said. “I was asked about it a few years ago, and I wanted to continue as long as I had the drive and desire to coach. I don’t know if it was the COVID season last year or what, but it felt like it was time. I’m excited to see where the program is going to go from here.
“After talking with my family, we’ve been on the sideline for at least 30 years. I still plan on doing that for another year because Daniel has another year left at Waynesburg. I’ll still be on the sidelines and still be around at Fort Hill as long as the new coach allows me. I just think it was time for me to step aside and see where someone else could take the program.”
Fort Hill’s coach for the 2021 season will be Zach Steckman, a former player under Hott. A story on Steckman’s appointment will appear in Saturday’s Times-News.
After serving as the junior varsity head coach from 2000 through 2007, winning over 60 games during that span, Hott built further upon the success of previous varsity head coach Steve Thompson.
The Sentinels went 9-6 in Hott’s first year at the helm, losing in the first round of the playoffs; but after that, Fort Hill won at least one playoff game in 10 of the next 12 seasons, one of which was the COVID-shortened season with no playoffs.
Fort Hill had only won one playoff game prior to Hott’s appointment as head coach — the Sentinels beat South Carroll, 3-0, in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs in 2004, Fort Hill’s last year in 2A before moving down to 1A.
“I’m very privileged to have been able to coach soccer at my alma mater,” said Hott. “I’ve been involved with the program probably longer than anyone else has been involved. The program started in ’81, and I graduated in ’88 after playing four years there. In 1992, I started coaching youth league. So really I’ve been coaching for 30-plus years.
“In 1992 when I coached youth league, it got me interested in watching those youth players move up through high school at Fort Hill. So I’ve either been preparing kids or coaching kids at Fort Hill for all but about six years really. Even after I graduated, I followed the program. So I’d been interested in soccer and my alma mater during that time.”
Just shy of 200 games over 13 seasons, Hott compiled an overall record of 114-65-16 and went 12-12 in the playoffs.
“It’s been very satisfying,” he said. “I didn’t start coaching back in ’92 with the thought of coaching at Fort Hill. That wasn’t even in my thought process.
“Then in 1999, Fort Hill coach Danny Hare knew it’d probably be his last season. He approached me and another coach and asked if we’d be interested in coaching at Fort Hill. I jumped at the chance because I knew it would be a way to give back to my school and a program that I loved so much.”
After a 5-8-2 season in 2012 — one of only two losing seasons under Hott’s tutelage — the Sentinels went 11-4-1 and 10-6 before winning the Appalachian Mountain Athletic Conference championship in 2015, the first AMAC title in school history.
The following season was a banner year for Hott and Fort Hill, as the Sentinels won their first region championship in school history, defeating Clear Spring, 4-3, after beating Northern and Allegany in the sectionals. Fort Hill lost to eventual Class 1A state champion Pikesville, 4-3, in overtime in the state semifinals, finishing the year at 14-3-1.
Fort Hill was voted area champions — its first area crown since 1998.
Capping off the Sentinels’ accolades in 2016 was Coach Hott’s son, Daniel, being voted the Edward C. Finzel Player of the Year following a senior season where he finished as the leading point-getter in the area, AMAC and City League play.
In area play, he tallied 60 points on 24 goals and 12 assists, being directly involved in 57% of the Sentinels’ goals on the year. Daniel Hott didn’t miss a game over his four-year career with the varsity squad — he scored 54 goals and dished out 27 assists during that time — and Jim Hott had the best seat in the house as it unfolded.
“It was always special because when I started coaching, he was 2 years old,” Jim Hott said. “So he grew up in the program with me. He was always on the sidelines. … It was just a privilege. The highlight of my career was to be able to coach my son in the sport we both love. To see him have the success that he did and all the hard work he put in, and also the teammates he had because he had a core group of players that he played with.
“I always said Fort Hill soccer was a family and I wanted to treat it that way. All those kids, I considered my sons. They were in my care and custody when they were on the field. But it was very special to be able to coach my son as well. It was a special time we had together.”
Daniel Hott is entering his senior year at Waynesburg, where thus far he’s tallied 11 goals and four assists in 45 games — Jim Hott plans to take the opportunity and freedom of retirement to watch as much of his son’s final season as he can.
“I would like to thank the coaches that have helped along the way,” Jim Hott said. “From Tim Woodring, CL Tipton, George Brown, Josh Cook, Jay Cook, Andy Tichnell, Hunter Tipton, and more recently Steve Wilkinson, who was very key to our success as well. I’ve had a lot of former players join my coaching ranks. I’ve had one player go on to coach at college and several players play in college as well. I just want to thank the Fort Hill administration, the F Club and the Fort Hill community for standing behind us and supporting us like any other sport.”
Kyle Bennett is a sports reporter for the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @KyleBennettCTN.