A Soccer Lifeline

When the chest pains get too severe, Lou Bilowitz heads to his crowded medicine cabinet and looks for the bottle of nitroglycerin pills.

Although he’s an expert at getting the most out of his boys’ soccer teams at La Canada High, Bilowitz, 49, is also well versed on the dozens of medications he has had to take since suffering a near-fatal heart attack eight years ago.

He knows nitroglycerin helps dilate his coronary blood vessels, allowing for greater blood flow to his heart.

Most high school coaches don’t need such medical knowledge, but then most haven’t had to vastly alter their lifestyle for health reasons.

“In 1989, my life as I knew it ended,” said Bilowitz, who in 10 seasons at La Canada has a record of 194-13-23. His teams have never finished lower than a first-place tie in the Rio Hondo League. “I worked so hard, and I was in a rat race. It almost killed me.”

When he was told his heart attack was stress-related, Bilowitz, then 42, was a bit puzzled. He didn’t smoke or drink excessively, and he had never had any serious health problems.

He put in long hours at the financial investment group in which he was a partner, but he didn’t scream and yell or fight with co-workers.

And he has always had a calming presence on the soccer field, where he started coaching his oldest son, Kyle, in youth soccer leagues in the mid-1980s. When Kyle got to La Canada, Bilowitz had been coaching the soccer team for three years.

His family enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle, living in affluent La Canada and taking annual trips to Europe.

In November 1989, shortly before his third season as head coach, Bilowitz went to the hospital complaining of chest pains. While being examined by a cardiologist, he had a massive heart attack.

He was in the hospital for three weeks and doesn’t remember the first week. When he was released, his doctors told him he could never return to work if he wanted to live.

Twice Bilowitz tried to go back to his business, and each time he ended up in the hospital.

With limited options for physical activity, Bilowitz devoted more time to coaching to help fill the void of not working. He discovered a new world.

“Some people might think I’m crazy, but my heart attack was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Bilowitz said. “I discovered a new calling in life that has brought me more happiness than I have ever known. Working with kids has changed me.

“I’m lucky I got a second chance.”

Bilowitz had embarked on a promising coaching career before his heart attack. In March 1989, his second season at La Canada, he guided a school with no soccer tradition to a Southern Section divisional title.

Although he missed a few practices the next season because of his heart attack, Bilowitz was back on the sideline for the first game. The team won its third consecutive Rio Hondo League championship (it has won 10 in a row) and advanced to its second consecutive divisional title game.

Bilowitz played football as a youngster in New York and learned soccer by reading and talking with coaches.

A gamble on an unusual man-to-man defensive strategy helped La Canada win a league title in Bilowitz’s first year.

But the game changed for Bilowitz after his heart attack. Strategies and exhausting practices took a back seat to player-coach relationships. When his coaching hobby became his primary activity, Bilowitz wanted to enjoy the people he would spend each afternoon with.

“My husband has liked working with kids since we were first married,” said Carol Bilowitz, who returned to work as an elementary school teacher to help support the family. “After his heart attack, I just wanted him to stay home and take care of himself. I worried I’d come home and find an ambulance in front of our house and find out he’d had another heart attack.

“But coaching is his life now, and I’ve accepted that it’s what he needs to be happy and feel like he has a purpose,” she said.

La Canada Vice Principal Michael Leininger helped hire Bilowitz and has been at his side through all the ups and downs.

“If I ever had to tell Lou he couldn’t work with the kids, I think it would probably kill him,” Leininger said. “He cares about his players so much that they always come first. He’s what you want in a coach.”

For his $2,000 annual coaching stipend, Bilowitz spends several hours a day at the school from November to March. He monitors grades, tutors and helps work out problems his players may have with their teachers. He offers advice when asked and occasionally takes his players out to dinner.

“If Lou wasn’t out on the field, then he wasn’t happy,” said Nick Paneno, the captain of last year’s team and now a starter at UCLA. “As players, we recognized his dedication and love for the game. It made us want to play for him.”

Bilowitz has never lost more than three games in a season while winning 85% of the time.

Before a 1-0 loss to Pasadena Blair last month, La Canada established a state record by winning 59 games in a row, including consecutive 25-0 seasons.

Many consider last year’s team one of the best ever assembled in California; six players are now starters in college. The team’s perfect record stayed intact even though Bilowitz missed several practices before the playoffs because of a bleeding ulcer.

He lost five pints of blood one morning and his blood pressure dropped so low his doctor said he could have died. A transfusion restored his blood pressure, and Bilowitz didn’t miss a game.

Before that, he had to overcome a couple of bouts with walking pneumonia.

Nothing seems to stop Bilowitz.

“My wife has shed many tears worrying about me,” he said. “But I believe I was given a second chance in life for a reason. It wasn’t my time because I have more to accomplish. And I’m not done yet.”

After taking his daily dosage of medicine, Bilowitz usually meets up with his personal trainer at the local YMCA. He rides the treadmill and lifts weights. He often stops by an office he rents in a Pasadena accounting firm to play around on his computer, usually compiling soccer statistics.

“I need a place of my own to go hang out away from home,” he said.

The rest of the day is devoted to soccer. Before the high school season, he was the assistant coach for the men’s team at Claremont College, where his son Kyle is the starting goalkeeper. In the spring, he’ll coach his 11-year-old son, Shane, in youth soccer.

The days can be long, and coaching can be stressful. Bilowitz says he rests when he’s tired and tries not to show his emotion on the field.

His health has dramatically improved since his heart attack, according to his doctor.

“We still need to be very conscious of the fact the Louie had a heart attack at a young age,” said Dr. Richard Foullon, executive director of Verdugo Hills Medical Associates in Glendale. “This is a perfect example of the result of a lifestyle that wasn’t suited mentally or physically to an individual. By changing lifestyles, Louie has made a significant medical transformation. His prognosis is good.”

When the playoffs begin Friday afternoon, Bilowitz will be going for his third divisional title in a row. Despite starting seven players who are either freshmen or sophomores, the Spartans shared the league title with South Pasadena.

In their playoff opener, they are host to Inglewood Morningside. Bilowitz will be without starting fullback Ryan Zimmerman, who must sit out one game for receiving a red card last week. Another defender, Chris Clair, is hobbling because of a sprained ankle.

No one expects Bilowitz to lose.

“Lou has made soccer in this area very strong,” said Temple City Coach Josef Momjian, whose school competes in the same league. “I appreciate what he’s done because the competition is so much better. He has made us all work harder.”

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Bilowitz Factor

Coach Lou Bilowitz’s record at La Canada:

YEAR: 1987-88

RECORD: 12-2-7

OUTCOME: Rio Hondo League champion; lost in Southern Sec. Div. 1-A quarterfinals.

*

YEAR: 1988-89

RECORD: 19-2-2

OUTCOME: co-league champion; won Div. 1-A title.

*

YEAR: 1989-90

RECORD: 22-1-3

OUTCOME: league champion; lost in Div. 1-A final.

*

YEAR: 1990-91

RECORD: 18-1-4

OUTCOME: league champion; lost in Div. 1-A quarterfinals.

*

YEAR: 1991-92

RECORD: 22-1-1

OUTCOME: league champion; lost in Div. 1-A semifinals.

*

YEAR: 1992-93

RECORD: 16-3-2

OUTCOME: league champion; lost in Div. IV first round.

*

YEAR: 1993-94

RECORD: 20-2-1

OUTCOME: league champion; lost in Div. IV quarterfinals.

*

YEAR: 1994-95

RECORD: 25-0-0

OUTCOME: league champion; won Div. IV title.

*

YEAR: 1995-96

RECORD: 25-0-0

OUTCOME: league champion; won Div. IV title.

*

YEAR: 1996-97

RECORD: 15-1-3

OUTCOME: co-league champion; open Div. IV playoffs Friday.

Totals

RECORD: 194-13-23

OUTCOME: 10 league titles, 3 divisional titles.