When Alex Kulevich arrived at Marblehead High in 1970, serving as a history teacher and head football coach before becoming athletic director for more than 20 years, he didn’t think he’d be making news in 2025.
But after a school-committee vote in March, Kulevich will be a part of every sporting event played at Marblehead High.
Overlooking Piper Field on Humphrey Street will be the Alexander W. Kulevich, Jr. Athletic Complex.
“This whole thing is unbelievable,” Kulevich said. “I’m overjoyed, and people have been so nice and supportive.”
Wins aside, Kulevich, 89, looks back on much more. The baseball team won two state championships under AD Kulevich, who’s a member of the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association, Bishop Fenwick, and Marblehead Gridiron halls of fame. Kulevich played football at Boston College, received his Master of Education from Salem State, and coached, taught, and served as AD at Bishop Fenwick.
However, education was always his top priority.
“He always preached that student comes before athlete,” daughter Jo-Mary Koopman said. “We saw, firsthand, how passionate he was about education.”
Kulevich’s son, Tom, a former football star who also played baseball and hockey, said he always admired his father’s character and commitment.
“He’s humble, unselfish, and always willing to help,” Tom (’81) said. “The student-athletes came first and he would help them in any way he could to be successful.”
One of those student-athletes was Larry DiGiammarino, who, during his senior year of 1977-78, led the team in receptions during Marblehead’s 8-2 season under Kulevich.
“Alex put together a great staff and we were blessed with it,” DiGiammarino said, a real estate attorney who lives in Marblehead. “There was a whole group of really good athletes.”
When asked to describe Kulevich’s approach to coaching, DiGiammarino answered in no time.
“He was very methodical. He was a quieter coach and wasn’t a yeller,” DiGiammarino said, whose favorite game under Kulevich was a win against a bigger Lynn Classical team. “If things weren’t going the way he had planned, his halftime adjustments were always putting us in a position to grab a win.”
Another Marblehead football player, Mark Shapiro (’72), would agree, calling his former coach a natural mentor.
“My teenage compatriots and I used to joke that Coach was not real,” Shapiro said, who tried out for the team as a junior during Kulevich’s first season. “How could someone lead such an exemplary life? He proved us wrong then and continues to do so now – we remain in awe.”
Team captain Bobby McNeil (’78) spent a lot of time with Coach as a senior, as Kulevich later ran the defense in the Agganis All-Star Football Game.
“We had – and continue to have – an amazing relationship,” McNeil said. “He’s someone I deeply respect, as do all of his former players, because of his incredible accomplishments and the way he has lived his life. There is no better role model than Coach Kulevich.”
McNeil said “energy and emotion” were off the charts when Marblehead took down traditional archrival Swampscott, 34-6, on Thanksgiving Day in 1977.
Kulevich remembers, too.
“It was on TV, radio, and everything,” he said. “We had some great games and great rivalries.”
Dave Willis (’78) said Kulevich instilled preparation, discipline, and confidence into his players.
“He was always emphasizing that we could win,” Willis said, who lined up as receiver and safety. “If we hadn’t lost that game (against Saugus in 1977), we would’ve gone to the Super Bowl.”
And nearly 50 years later, Coach never forgot about his players.
“I was sick in the hospital last year,” Willis said. “I got a personal note from Alex, one that said ‘It’s all in the state of mind’ and ‘Get well, Dave.’ All these years later, everyone speaks so highly of him.”
From now on, a new generation will look up to the Kulevich name.
“I’m just happy I’ve gotten to be a part of the student-athletes’ lives,” Kulevich said. “I think we have a really good athletic program and now, my wife (Barbara) and I are still a part of it. I’m looking forward to seeing Marblehead do well – that won’t change.”
