Carl Kielbasa, a Sachem football coach during the program’s dynasty years of the late 1970s, died in late January. He was 81.
Kielbasa was inducted into the Sachem Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021. He worked at Sachem for 29 years and coached football, basketball, and wrestling at Samoset Middle School. Most notably, he worked with the varsity football program as a line coach from 1976 through 1981. During this stretch, Sachem won three consecutive Suffolk County titles in 1977, 1978, and 1979.
“Carl was one of the most genuine people I have ever met,” said legendary Sachem Football coach Fred Fusaro. “He taught and coached at every level and was such a positive person.”
Following the 1981 season, he transitioned to coaching at Seneca Middle School so he could watch his sons play during their varsity football careers. He remained at Seneca for the next 18 years until retirement.
He built a generation of popular Sachem football players in the 1980s and 1990s. During this span, he continued to coach wrestling at Samoset and was a dedicated coach in the Sachem Kid Wrestling Program.
“The kids loved him, and he was a tremendous motivator,” Fusaro said. “Carl put his family ahead of everything. He was a great guy that I respected and loved.”
Kielbasa grew up in Levittown and played football at Division High School and Rutgers University, where he was in the ROTC before serving in the United States Army from 1965 to 1969 and doing on tour in Thailand to support the Vietnam War effort.
He is survived by four sons, Carl (wife Kendra), Craig, Chris (wife Michelle), Curt (wife Julie), and his seven grandchildren. A ceremony will be planned in his honor at Calverton National Cemetary, where he will be buried with his wife, Jean, in June or July.