Andy Kostel has been coaching boys’ varsity soccer at Archbishop Molloy H.S., Briarwood, for so many years that his tenure is actually longer than the CHSAA boys’ soccer league itself.
This season marks the 50th on the sidelines for Kostel, leading the Stanners. He is the winningest soccer coach in New York City history, but more important, he’s still loving what he does each day.
Kostel grew up attending St. Mel’s parish and school in Flushing, where he played Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) baseball. His coach, Manny Rey, knew Kostel was athletic, so he suggested that the young Kostel take up a sport that had been gaining local popularity: soccer.
A whole group of St. Mel’s baseball players turned to soccer in sixth grade, and by the time they were in eighth grade, they took home a CYO diocesan championship. Soccer became Kostel’s primary sport, and he continued playing as a defender at the now-closed Bishop Reilly H.S., Fresh Meadows.
In addition to St. Mel’s, Rey coached Kostel at Bishop Reilly, too. During his senior season in 1970, Kostel helped lead the team to an undefeated season, including defeating the nationally ranked St. Anthony’s H.S., South Huntington, L.I., not once but twice.
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From there, it was on to Fordham University, in the Bronx, to continue his soccer career. Unfortunately, Kostel suffered a knee injury in his sophomore season and could no longer play at a high level.
To remain around the sport, he started coaching CYO soccer at St. Mel’s. Meanwhile, he studied to become a math teacher at Fordham.
The program at Archbishop Molloy began when one of Kostel’s CYO players, who was a student at Molloy, asked his coach about starting a high school team. Kostel — who was only in his early 20s at the time — approached the principal, who said the group could practice for six months and then have an official team starting in the fall of 1976.
In his first season guiding the newly formed Molloy boys’ varsity soccer team, Kostel led them to a championship — all while continuing to coach at St. Mel’s.
As for his teaching, he started at St. Joseph by-the-Sea H.S., Staten Island, before settling in for a long career at Aviation H.S., Long Island City. After his retirement, he served as an adjunct professor at Queens College, Flushing, where he taught students how to become math teachers.
Through it all, Kostel has won 17 Brooklyn/Queens diocesan championships, 15 city championships, and two state championships. He earned the distinction of being the first soccer coach inducted into the CHSAA Hall of Fame (2010), and he’s also now a member of the Archbishop Molloy Stanner Hall of Fame (2025).
Accolades aside, for Kostel it’s always been about forming a community. During his Molloy Hall of Fame speech, he was moved to see how many of his former players went on to become soccer coaches themselves.
“The best thing about coaching at Molloy for me has been seeing how many lifelong friends these kids have because of being on the soccer team,” said Kostel, now a parishioner at Notre Dame parish in New Hyde Park, L.I.
By his side throughout the majority of his coaching career was his late wife, Janette, who passed away in early 2020. She was an integral part of the program, and she was an enthusiastic supporter at every game.
“My wife was a very big part of this,” Kostel said. “Everyone who was part of the program and knew her would call her ‘Mrs. Coach.’ She was there all the time.”
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Coaching has allowed Kostel to combine his two passions: soccer and teaching. Being a soccer coach for so long has meshed these two passions so well, as he teaches the game he loves to the next generation.
Kostel is taking things one day at a time. He still derives great joy from coaching soccer, seeing his players compete at the next level, and instilling a strong work ethic in his student-athletes that will benefit them no matter where their lives take them.
“At Molloy, it’s not just for school; it’s for life,” Kostel said. “I think that’s a big deal for kids to have. Being part of a community is very important.”
Kostel’s legacy — chapters of which still are being written — is one of leadership, education, mentorship, and achievement. He’s the main reason why soccer has become a major part of Molloy’s storied tradition of interscholastic athletics.
Year 50 is underway!