On the morning of Jan. 20, Br. Jim Kozak didn\u2019t answer his phone.<\/p>\n
Players on the Holy Cross men\u2019s soccer team were calling him to see if he was coming to practice. It wasn\u2019t like the team\u2019s beloved 83-year-old chaplain to miss.<\/p>\n
6 a.m. workout? Br. Jim was there. Post-practice meals? Br. Jim was eating with the guys. Away games? Of course he was there. It\u2019s Br. Jim we\u2019re talking about.<\/p>\n
But, that morning, Br. Jim wasn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n
Concern quickly turned to alarm. The team contacted the police as resident assistants in Pulte Hall, the dorm where Br. Jim served as an assistant rector, were addressing the situation. Not long after, the news came that Br. Jim had passed away unexpectedly in his room.<\/p>\n
The loss sent shockwaves throughout the entire Holy Cross community, especially to the team he had mentored for the past 12 years.<\/p>\n
For more than a decade, Br. Jim was the cornerstone of the Saints men\u2019s and women\u2019s soccer programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not only our chaplain, but the grandpa to some of these guys and a dad to me,\u201d said men\u2019s soccer head coach Omar Gallo. \u201cHe knew more stuff about all of these players than anyone else did, even some of their own family members.\u201d<\/p>\n
Br. Jim\u2019s\u00a0impact extended far beyond the pitch as well. He was a mentor to many students at Holy Cross.<\/p>\n
Nearly every morning at the small but mighty Siegfried Dining Hall, Br. Jim chatted with the team at their large round table before making his rounds. He\u2019d typically venture to a smaller table tucked away in the corner with a few devout Holy Cross students who gathered daily for breakfast.<\/p>\n
He was a constant presence on campus, and his wardrobe was just as consistent. A fashionable man, Br. Jim wore a button-down shirt, suspenders and slacks regardless of the time of day. His wrinkled face and gray hair were reminiscent of the grandfather in Pixar\u2019s movie \u201cUp!\u201d<\/p>\n
Two months after Br. Jim\u2019s passing, during spring break, the Saints traveled to Mexico for an immersion experience. While there, they had the chance to compete against top-caliber teams while also serving surrounding communities.<\/p>\n
Br. Jim was supposed to be on the trip. He was supposed to be serving with the guys, leading by example and teaching them profound lessons with the wisdom he\u2019d so often share.<\/p>\n
Instead, the trip served as a tribute to Br. Jim, fitting, for a man whose life was dedicated to service. Br. Jim spent 19 years of his life serving for the Congregation of Holy Cross in Ghana. There, he helped develop the congregation\u2019s presence, spending much of his time at St. John\u2019s School in Sekondi. It was at St. John\u2019s School that he developed the nicknames \u201cBro\u201d and \u201cKoza-ko,\u201d both of which stuck all the way to his time at Holy Cross College<\/p>\n
Upon returning to the United States in 1990, he taught for over 20 years at Catholic schools in Illinois, Michigan and Ohio before eventually settling in Notre Dame, Indiana for his retirement. Rooted in his love for education, Br. Jim transformed the hearts and minds of many of the young men and women he reached.<\/p>\n
Throughout their one week immersion, the Saints had the opportunity to play games against Universidad Anahuac Puebla, Puebla FC reserves and Futbol Club Licantropos. Humidity, the travel, sun and culture shock did numbers on Holy Cross players physically during the games.<\/p>\n
Tied in with the fact the Mexican clubs did not want to lose to an American side, all three matches were tough. However, as Br. Jim would\u2019ve hoped for, the Saints persevered and came away from the trip with an international win. More importantly, they carried his presence with them throughout the trip, honoring him before every kickoff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d pray the Our Father before every game,\u201d said captain Cesar Vela. \u201cEvery time I prayed, I felt that Brother was there and he was in that circle with us. I could see his white hair, his glasses, his suspenders, tucked-in, collared shirt.\u201d<\/p>\n
When they weren\u2019t on the field, the soccer players were exploring the country, eating traditional food and listening to live music.<\/p>\n
But importantly, they were also serving.<\/p>\n
On the final day of the trip, the Saints served at Casa de Sol Orphanage \u2014 a nonprofit in Puebla, Mexico that provides shelter for abandoned children.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt challenged who we are as people,\u201d Gallo said of their time at Casa De Sol. \u201cIt gave us a deep sense of gratitude. That to me was what we wanted to get out of the trip: finding ways we can give others hope while getting closer together as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s just what Br. Jim would\u2019ve wanted. Through his work in Ghana, he interacted with students from some of the most impoverished communities in the world.<\/p>\n
After a long day spent playing with the children and clearing out the orphanage\u2019s worn-down playground \u2014 removing rocks, debris and scattered rubble \u2014 the team gathered in a circle around the freshly prepared space before the sky turned dark. Sweaty, exhausted, but still eager to serve, Gallo presented them with a tiny tree to plant.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all knew what it meant,\u201d Vela said.<\/p>\n
The tree stood as a tribute for Br. Jim.<\/p>\n
As they planted it, a member of the Casa de Sol Orphanage staff whose son had recently died by suicide joined them.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be able to share that moment with her was special,\u201d Vela explained. \u201cGrief united us in that sense that we wouldn\u2019t have expected. You never know what somebody is going through.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the tree was planted, tears were shed before the team shared one final meal and departed.<\/p>\n
As human beings, the team was stretched in ways they never could have imagined before the trip. They left Mexico more united in purpose and perspective.<\/p>\n
The Saints ultimately finished their 2025-2026 campaign 9-8-1, falling to Judson in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference quarterfinals. Senior centerback Tristan Alfaro was named to the All-CCAC First Team. Senior goalkeeper Isaias Rubio, sophomore fullback Nathan Sanchez and freshman forward Daniel Alfaro earned second team honors.<\/p>\n
But, as Gallo and his team came to understand through the year, the record and accolades were never the point. That\u2019s never what Br. Jim preached.<\/p>\n
Br. Jim devoted his beautiful 83-year-old life to Holy Cross\u2019 motto: Ave crux, spes unica.<\/p>\n
Hail the Cross, our only hope.<\/p>\n
His core message to live by those words became his final lesson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the morning of Jan. 20, Br. Jim Kozak didn\u2019t answer his phone. Players on the Holy Cross…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":666067,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-666066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/666067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}