Newly named Molloy head soccer coach John Fitzgerald grounded his son Sean in a shared love for mentoring the next generation of footballers.
“I was his No. 1 fan when he was a young player. Then I was his coach, and now I’m his colleague,” John told The Post of Sean, a former player at Molloy and Binghamton.
The father-son duo is coaching on the Lions sidelines this fall in a unique scenario, as Sean, 23, plays for his dad with the American Soccer Club in the NPSL.
“His strength as a player has been his ability to read and understand the game. … And that’s translating into even our coaching discussions,” said John, who recently drove with Sean between practices, from Molloy to practice with the Fighting Tomcats, whom Sean captains.
The car conversations have been interesting — for John, at least.
“I’ll talk about [the game] 24/7. He knows when to turn it off,” John said. “And he’ll put me in my place about that.”
Sean always locks in when it’s time to work, as “he does get a little fiery” on the pitch with the Lions.
“He also jumps in and plays with them,” John said. “It’s good because he can help demonstrate and kind of paint the picture.”
Molloy is off to a 1-0 start in NCAA play with the Fitzgeralds at the helm.
They’re hoping to keep that going with ASC, which is prepping for an opening-round matchup in the U.S. Open Cup against Osner’s FC at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn on Sept. 13 at 8 p.m.
“I realize how fortunate I am to get to do this with Sean,” John said.
