Monroe Coach Suffers Cerebral Hemorrhage

Fred Cuccia, Monroe High’s football coach, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage Sunday morning during his sleep and is in stable condition at Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale.

The hospital would not release details concerning Cuccia’s condition in accordance with his family’s wishes, but a hospital spokesman in the intensive care unit said Cuccia, 50, was unable to speak.

Monroe Principal Joan Elam has been in daily contact with Cuccia’s wife Carol since Sunday morning.

“So far he’s holding his own, but he’s not really conscious,” Elam said.

Monroe recently switched to a year-round schedule and Elam met with football team members Monday to inform them of Cuccia’s condition and to provide support. She has no plans to name an interim coach.

“The whole group [of assistant coaches] will carry on the same way they would if Fred was here,” she said.

“You just gotta know Fred Cuccia is a very important person on this campus, to the students and the staff.”

Cuccia, who coached at Hoover and South Pasadena in the 1980s and guided Poly to a City Section 3-A Division title in 1990, has turned around the Monroe program since taking over in 1994.

The Vikings, Mid-Valley League doormats before Cuccia’s arrival, are 15-10 the past two seasons, including a 9-4 record and a berth in the 3-A playoff semifinals last year.

The La Canada resident left Poly after the 1993 season to coach his son Rocco at Monroe. Rocco will be a junior center for the Vikings.