Head Coach Doug Perez (l),
OC Mike LaBarre, DC Paige Levack
Coaching Staff of the 2002 Ice Storm Championship Team.
Vermont played in the AA conference of the New England Football League
Doug Perez was born and brought up in California. He graduated from U.C. Berkeley B.A., U.C. Davis M.A., and U.C. Berkeley Ph.D. All in Political Science. Upon graduation he worked as a Deputy Sheriff in Contra Costa County.
Doug coached rowing at San Diego State, U.C. Santa Barbara, and for the U.S. National Team in 1981. He now coaches the Middlebury College team.
As a football coach he started at the high school level. Coached at William Jewell College, and then in the Semi-Pro ranks as Head Coach at Plattsburgh, and then began as Head Coach in 2001 for the Vermont Ice Storm.
For the Ice Storm, Coach Perez was named Coach of the Year in the New England Football League in 2001, 2002, 2004. He was also named Coach of the Year in the Empire Football League during the 2006, 2007, and 2008 seasons. He led the Ice Storm to league titles in 2002 in the N.E.F.L. and in 2007 in the E.F.L.
During the 2005 season “coach” Perez became “player” Perez as he donned the pads for a season and spent time on the offensive line while assistant coach Mike LaBarre performed the head coaching duties.
Coach Perez retired from the Ice Storm after the 2008 season having accumulated 100 wins, two League Championship titles and two National Titles. The first being voted on as 2007 AFA AAA National Champions and the second having led the Ice Storm to a victory in the 2008 AAA DI National USA Bowl game played in Florida against the DC Explosion.
More than just the first Head Coach of the Ice Storm, he was also the first owner of the team. As owner he helped establish the organization as community based by promoting local charities. He encouraged players, coaches, and staff members of the team to volunteer doing charity work for such organizations as Special Olympics, the local food shelf and the COTS organization. He also promoted player participation in local youth football camps.
Coach Perez taught the importance of “helping your fellow man” to everyone within the organization and in turn helped the players learn to be good “people” as well as good “football players”.
Professor Perez has been teaching Criminal Justice at Plattsburgh State University for the past 15 years. He is the author of six books, all about the police.
He is the father of Elizabeth, and Annie, and lives in Winooski, VT.
