It’s the end of an era, whose longevity and success may never be duplicated again.
CBC coach John Jost and assistant Nick Carosello both decided to end their coaching tenures at their alma mater as they began it — together. The duo decided this season, their 26th at the helm of the Cadets’ varsity, would be their last.
“I never dreamed I would last 26 years,” Jost said. “I never dreamed that we had some of the success we did. That's why it's tough these last couple of years, because we got a little spoiled.”
And what a run it was.
Jost leaves as the most successful coach in Mid States Club Hockey Association history. In just over a quarter of a century, his Cadets compiled an 803-99-50 record, won 13 Mid States championships, 21 Metro/Municipal division championships and entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed 21 times.
The move comes as Jost’s nephew, Matthew, and Carosello’s son, Sam, finished their senior seasons with CBC.
“When my son played in 2009, John Jr., Nick always said, you know, kind of jokingly, you need to stick around with me until Sam gets done,” John Jost said. “So, we kind of always had this year as a target here that maybe this would be it.”
Jost (class of 1984) and Carosello (1993) are CBC alums. Both won state championships in a Cadets jersey under previous CBC coach and mentor Rick Kennedy.
“It's been a heck of a run,” Carosello said. “We've been together for quite a long time and that doesn't happen a whole lot. We get that. But I think every year we come in and we just want to give our kids, you know, the new kids, especially the seniors, that same experience that we had when we were there.”
CBC’s legendary 132-game unbeaten streak is the defining moment of the Jost era. The Cadets went from December 29, 2002, to March 1, 2006, without losing a game.
It’s a streak that will probably never be topped.
“We don't take a night off and that's the most proud I am of anything in coaching at CBC is that we came ready every game,” Jost said. “We've never made excuses about missing players or injuries or people out of town for Triple-A or whatever. We've never made an excuse. We didn't like talking about it. And I think that went a lot into that streak.”
Added Carosello, “For the first year or two, you didn't even realize what was going on. We were always so worried about the next game. The first thing you've got to realize is that was what I call the heyday. We just had so many talented players, so skilled, but these were kids that cared and they would push each other and I would look back at those teams with some of the guys that were on those teams, and our practices were better than most of the games we played.”
For Jost, coaching his son to a Mid States championship is one of the top memories he has from his tenure. The other is the night the streak came to an end, in an upset against Oakville in the Challenge Cup championship game at the Enterprise Center.
Jost said an ironic fact about that game was CBC beat Oakville the year before when the Tigers had Pat Maroon and lost to the Tigers after the future NHL star had moved on.
“I remember just how crazy it was,” Jost said. “I remember thinking to myself, OK, we lost. It sucks. But what a night for high school hockey. I remember going holy cow. I mean, that place was absolutely insane. I'd never heard a building so loud. We actually had too many men on the ice at the end of the game, because our guys couldn't hear. We actually played the last 30 seconds of the game with seven guys.”
Carosello said one of his fondest moments is coaching his son, Sam, who was part of CBC’s last championship team as a freshman in 2021.
“That was great for me, you know, being able to share that moment with him,” Carosello said.
The biggest change during his tenure Jost has noticed is the increasing conflicts high-end Mid States players have with their club teams.
Mid States has made a concerted effort to work with area Triple-A and Central States teams, including scaling back and taking certain weekends off during the playoffs. But Mid States coaches are still left with a constant juggling act with their rosters.
“It used to be, you know, guys would miss a couple games a year,” Jost said. “I don't want to sound like I'm whining or anything, because we all deal with it, but I think that's the biggest part of it is how many games and practices players have to meet. It really wears on you.”
Jost expects a seamless transition to new coaches Eric Aldag and Ryan Trenz. Both are 2010 CBC graduates who played and won championships under Jost and Carosello. Blake Ryan (CBC class of 2010) and Ryan Polizzi (2009) will round out the varsity staff. Tim Carbery and Jim Jost III will remain JV coaches.
“If we didn't have the right guys, we would keep doing it,” Jost said. “We weren't just going to hand over the keys to just anyone.”
Aldag and Trenz spent this season as varsity assistants, filling an open spot left by longtime assistant Randy Staub, who stepped down last season.
Both coaches don’t plan on slowing down.
Carosello, a fourth-grade teacher, plans to follow his son’s career wherever it takes him. He wouldn’t rule out coaching at the youth level in the future and he plans on attending his fair share of CBC games as a fan.
“I grew up at Affton,” Carosello said. “I grew up right across the street from the rink. Really why I am a teacher is because I love coaching and it kept me at the rink.”
Jost will stay on with CBC hockey, helping run the program behind the scenes. It is a role his father had for many years until he died in 2016.
“Make sure that these new coaches are comfortable and anything I can do to help them,” Jost said. “Right now, we've got camps and things that we do this summer. I'll be in charge of that. Book the ice and all the things we do, I'll continue to do that. Do some of the fundraising and keep it going.”
Jost and Carosello have known each other for most of their lives. Even though Carosello is nine years younger, he was friends and teammates with Jost’s younger brother, Matt.
After 26 years behind the bench together, they have formed a special bond that will continue beyond hockey. That bond also includes Staub, who was with them for 24 of their 26 years behind the bench.
“One of the saddest things is we're not going to see each other throughout the winter, three, four or five times a week,” Jost said. “You know, going out after the game to get a pizza and talking about not just hockey, and not just about our team, but about our families. It's a great friendship.”