Wisconsin Soccer Central

John Burke will start his 20th season as the Waukesha Catholic Memorial girls soccer coach late next month when practice for the 2014 season begins.

Burke has more wins than any prep girls coach in Wisconsin history, with a 405-45-31 record. He's led the Crusaders to eight WIAA Division 2 state finals and six titles in the past 10 years, including each of the past two seasons, in addition to three state championships in the defunct Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association.

But while many coaches, both male and female, coach boys and girls teams in high school or club, Burke has only coached girls teams during his successful career.

It goes back to a promise he made back in 1991.

"Laura Moynihan was a very close friend of mine – my wife coached with her for many years," Burke explained. "Laura gave me her team, which was a very talented team, and she said to me, 'John, all the good coaches, they coach girls until they can get a boys job and I'd really like you to stay with girls.'

"I said, 'Laura, I will commit to you, I will coach girls and I will not coach boys ... I'll commit my career to coaching girls. That was a commitment I made to her before she died, so I have only, exclusively coached girls."

Moynihan is an iconic figure in Wisconsin soccer, having started the state's first girls league in the early 1980s. She also created the Wisconsin Girls Olympic Development Program, serving as its commissioner for eight years, and in 1991 was named the first full-time coach for the UW-Milwaukee women's program.

However, Moynihan was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus during the Panthers' 1991 season and passed away Aug. 1, 1992, at the age of 47.

When Burke was named coach at Catholic Memorial in 1995, he added a new event to the team's schedule: the Laura Moynihan Invitational – this year's 20th annual tournament is April 25 and 26 at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee.

Burke did coach a boys match in July at the Wisconsin Masonic All-Star Games in Whitewater, overseeing the Gold team in a 5-4 loss to the Blue squad in the game for seniors who graduated last spring. He also coached in the girls game that preceeded the boys game.

"They didn't have a coach for that game and they asked me to stick around and coach it. I don't think Laura's going to be upset with me," Burke said with a laugh.

"I enjoy working with boys quite a bit; they're a lot of fun. It's a different environment, a different kind of tone to the whole thing. I have boys a lot in the camps that I run, so I work with boys there. But as far as coaching a team of boys, I've never done it."