Welcome to St. Joseph Athletics

A Tradition of Excellence

St. Joseph High School has a tradition of excellence in athletics. In June 2011 the boys lacrosse won the CIAC Class S state championship, the second state title in three years for the program.  In March 2011, the boys basketball team won the CIAC Class LL state championship, the tenth basketball title under legendary head coach Vito Montelli.  In the fall of 2010 the SJ football team won the CIAC Class S state championship, marking the tenth football title in school history.

Since 2008-09, St. Joseph has captured eight CIAC state crowns in boys basketball, football (2), softball, girls soccer, boys ice hockey and boys lacrosse (2).  In 2009-2010 St. Joseph was named Connecticut's top high school athletic program by Sports Illustrated.  The school now boasts a total of 52 state championship banners from 13 different varsity team sports. Many St. Joseph student-athletes have also won individual state titles in tennis, swimming, indoor track and outdoor track. In addition, the Cadets have hung 58 conference championship banners in the school's gymnasium.

For a year-by-year look at the SJHS championships, click here.

St. Joseph offers it's student-athletes a wide variety of opportunities to compete at the interscholastic varsity level. The school offers a total of 24 varsity sports (11 girls sports, 11 boys sports, and two co-ed teams).

The school is a member of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) and the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference (FCIAC). St. Joe's joined the FCIAC in 1994-95 (after a one year probation period in 1993-94). Prior to the FCIAC, St. Joseph had joined the Metropolitan Bridgeport Interscholastic Athletic Conference (MBIAC) in 1970 and later joined the All Connecticut Conference (ACC) in 1985 as a founding member.

Many St. Joseph student-athletes have played beyond the high school level. Student-athletes from almost every sport have competed at the NCAA Division I, II, and III levels, as well as the Junior College level. Some of these student-athletes have earned partial and even full scholarships. A select few St. Joseph graduates have even played at the professional level.

Athletic Department Staff

Jim Olayos - Athletic Director

Jim Olayos was named Athletic Director in the fall of 2002 after retiring from his law practice of twenty years. Under his leadership the athletics department has seen a tremendous upgrade in facilities and an expansion of the athletics staff, while eleven state championship and six FCIAC championship banners have been hung in the gymnasium. In 2010 St. Joseph was named the top high school athletic program in Connecticut by Sports Illustrated.  In 2003 he was voted one of the top 100 most influential people in Connecticut High School Sports.

Jim graduated from St. Joe's in 1976. He played basketball and baseball for the Cadets and was a guard on the 1974-75 basketball team that won the first state championship in school history. After SJ, Jim attended Fairfield University and Quinnipiac School of Law. During those years he was the head basketball coach at Masuk High School in Monroe, CT where he received the New York Daily News "Coach of the Year" Award. After graduating from law school, he served as an assistant basketball coach at the University of Bridgeport under New England's all-time winningest basketball coach, Bruce Webster. He was also an assistant coach at St. Joe's under current head coach Vito Montelli, New England's all-time winningest high school basketball coach. He was on the coaching staff of the East squad in the McDonald's All-American basketball game in Indianapolis in 1990.

Jim is President of Future Stars Sports Academy, which he founded in 1998. In September 2000 he was selected as "America's Most Caring Coach" by USA Today Weekend Magazine. In 2001 he was the recipient of the Central Connecticut Coast YMCA Strong Kids Award. His program has been featured in both the New York Times and USA Today.

Jim and his wife Kim have four boys and reside in Shelton.

Jack Nogueira - Assistant Athletic Director

Jack Nogueira was named Assistant Athletic Director before the 2004-05 year. His main focus is to aid the St. Joseph student-athletes with their academics and serve as a resource for those students who wish to pursue their sport in college. He is currently the Head Girls Soccer Coach and his teams have won state titles in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, the SJ girls soccer team was ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 22 in the nation. A former soccer player at Western Connecticut State University, he has been a guidance counselor and girls soccer coach at St. Joe's since 1998.

Bob Studley - Assistant Athletic Director

Bob Studley was named Assistant Athletic Director before the start of the 2008-09 year. He serves as the school's Sports Information Director. He was Head Baseball Coach from 2002 through 2010. In 2005 he was selected as "Baseball Coach of the Year" by the Connecticut Post. He was also Head Boys Soccer Coach from 2001 through 2007. He has been a math teacher at the school since 1999-00. He graduated from SJHS in 1990 and earned varsity letters in both soccer and baseball. He earned his Master's degree in Sport Management from the University of Connecticut in 1999. Bob and his wife Karen live in West Haven with their daughter Riley and sons Sean and Ethan.

Dan McDonagh - Athletic Trainer

Dan McDonagh has been the full-time Athletic Trainer for St. Joe's since 2002. He works as an outreach ATC for Rehabilitation Associates Inc. He also joined the Science department at SJ in 2003 and currently teaches Earth Science, Biology, and Sports Medicine. He holds an undergraduate degree in Athletic Training from Castleton State College and a Master's degree in Athletic Training from Ohio University (class of 2002). He is available to every team and every student-athlete at SJ while covering all home contests and away football games. Dan and his wife Deb welcomed their son Josef in December 2008.

Teri Czarnecki - Secretary

Teri Czarnecki joined the staff at St. Joseph High School in 2001. She handles all the day-to-day duties of the Athletic Department.

Athletic Facilities

During the 2007 fall athletic season, the Dalling Sports Complex at St. Joe's hosted it's inaugural event. At the heart of the Complex is Carapezzi Field, the state-of-the-art synthetic turf field that is home to the SJ Football, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Boys Lacrosse and Girls Lacrosse teams. The Jeffrey Moonan Track surrounds the field and is home to Boys & Girls Outdoor Track . A multi-level press box is currently nder construction while a wireless scoreboard system is utilized by all teams at the Complex. A message board was installed in 2008 and welcomes fans as they arrive at St. Joe's. Future plans for the Dalling Sports Complex include new bleachers, concession stands, locker room facilities, and lights for night games.

Most other teams have facilities on the St. Joseph campus as well. The Msgr. Richard J. Shea Baseball Diamond underwent a major renovation prior to the 2006 season and now ranks among the top baseball fields in the region. The Softball Field was completely renovated before the 2008 season and is also considered one of the best fields of its kind in the area. Six brand new tennis courts were installed on campus during the summer of 2007 and the boys and girls tennis teams hosted home matches for the first time ever in 2008. The gymnasium is home to boys and girls basketball as well as boys and girls volleyball. The newly refurbished floor in the gym was named "Vito M. Montelli Court" prior to the start of the 2008-09 season in honor of SJ's legendary boys basketball coach. Lastly, boys and girls cross country use a course on campus for home meets.

Four St. Joseph teams practice and play games at off-campus facilities. The Boys Ice Hockey squad uses The Rinks at Shelton. The Girls Swim team competes at nearby Hillcrest Middle School in Trumbull. The Bowling team travels to Nutmeg Lanes in Fairfield, while the Golf team tees off at Tashua Knolls Golf Course in Trumbull.