Last football season the Rockets had a good year with their record being 7-5. After the season ended, head football coach Andrew Mamula stepped down after five years with the Rockets, finishing with a 39-17 record. After he stepped down, the Rockets were hunting for a new coach to lead them to victory. At the beginning of January, Lowellville’s Board of Education hired future Ohio Hall of Fame Coach, Jim Tsilimos. Coach Tsilimos will begin his 50th year of coaching with the Rockets during the 2025 season, which he feels is his biggest achievement. Before Lowellville, Tsilimos coached at Lisbon High School in Lisbon, Ohio where he led the team to 147 wins and a state championship, which is the most wins of any coach in Lisbon history.
I had the chance to interview him about the new coaching position. When I asked why he applied, he said, “I heard it was open, and I’ve coached against them in the past, and they always were athletic and physical.”
After all his wins from Lisbon, he still said his favorite moment about coaching is “any win on Friday night.”
Tsilimos has been a head coach of multiple teams over the years including Ben Logan High School located in Bellefontaine, Ohio (1985-86), Wilmington High School in Willmington, Ohio (1987-89), and Lisbon High School (1990-2008, 2011-18) in Lisbon, Ohio. He has worked with various talented athletes throughout his career. Coach Tsilimos stated, “I’m here because I like teaching kids. I like trying to make the game fun for everybody. I would say I am a player’s coach.”
His favorite part of coaching is “being able to associate with the staff and kids. I like building a family with everybody.” His goals for this year are to “have a winning season, win the league, and to make and perform well in the playoffs.”
Jim Tsilimos will be inducted into the Ohio Hall of Fame for coaching in a couple of months. When asked about how he felt about being inducted, he said, “It is a great honor for any coach in Ohio, and I am honored to be selected.”
Coach Tsilimos is a great coach with lots of experience which is why he’s going to fit in perfectly with the Lowellville football program.