EAST PROVIDENCE — Now former East Providence High School boys' soccer coach Tony Vieira, like just about every other person who has held a similar position, came to understand it was just time to move on from the job he held in some form for 13 of the previous 14 years.

Vieira pretty much decided before the 2022 season it would be his last at the helm of the Townies, a position he initially took over from Mario Andrade in 2009, though he admitted to having second thoughts all the way up until it needed to become official a few months ago.

Vieira, a 2002 EPHS grad and former player, said he is leaving for both personal and professional reasons.

His immediate family includes wife Kristen and two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Juliana. He is also dealing with a serious illness to another close relative.

In addition, Vieira in recent years became the superintendent of parks in the city's Department of Public Works. As well, Vieira remains as a vice president of the Bayside Football Club youth soccer organization, which was once headquartered at EPHS and now operates out of the turf field it paid for on the grounds of next-door Providence Country Day.

"It was a difficult decision. I definitely knew the day would come when I would to have decide between my soccer family and my own family," Vieira said. "I went back-and-forth a little bit even at the end. I thought maybe I could do it for one more year while my daughter is still young, but then I looked at the calendar and there was no way. I realized I just can't do everything anymore."

Changes made to the high school schedule, some in response to the ever-growing influence of club's like his own, also made remaining at EPHS somewhat more challenging.

"The Interscholastic League definitely made it more difficult with varsity and (junior varsity) playing together on the same days. They changed the schedule, made for long road trips and shortened the season. It just made it harder to do everything I needed to do," Vieira said.

Vieira's teams made the playoffs eight times. EPHS was ineligible to compete in the postseason in 2009 due to a fight the previous year and in 2010 the team exceeded its red card limit.

His Townies made the playoffs for the first time in 2012, when Vieira was selected as both the Rhode Island Boys' Soccer Coaches Association's Coach of the Year for Division I and the National Soccer Coaches Association's State Coach of the Year for Large Schools.

EP's final playoff appearance under his guidance last fall ended in a shootout loss to Classical in the first round. And in between, while in a skirmish with administrators over how a city employee could use personal time accrued, Vieira took a one-year leave during the 2015 season.

"Like every high school program, especially public schools, we had our share of ups and downs. We had successful years and down years, but for me it was always about trying to develop individuals and their character both on and off the field. Those are the real wins and losses," Vieira said. "It was always nice to hear about kids who went onto have successful careers, traveled the world, started to have families of their own, but it was disappointing to find out some of the kids went down the wrong road, chose the wrong path."

As Vieira heads off in a different direction, a familiar face to both he and the program is about to take over. His former EPHS teammate and avid supporter of the team, Tim Calouro, was chosen to be Vieira's successor.

The two have remained chums since playing at the top of the Townies' formation back in the early 2000s. Calouro, in fact, assisted on the first two goals Vieira scored in high school, a 2-0 victory over Tolman in a preseason tournament back in 1999.

"We're still really good friends. He was my best bud from the soccer team," Vieira said of Calouro. "Tim's a guy who has remained close to the program. He's really enthusiastic about soccer. He's just as passionate about the game as I am if not more. And he's also been an avid supporter of the program. He would always go to multiple games during a season. I would let him talk to the team during halftime, I always welcomed his input.

"I wish Tim and the program nothing but the best moving forward. I plan on staying involved, become a supportive alum like Tim has been. I've had lot of conversation with him already, going over rules, helping out with the locker room, stuff like that. I'll still be around to help however I can."

That aid could come in the form of helping cultivate current and future crops of Townies. Though he's giving up the reigns at EPHS, he will stay active instructing on the field for Bayside FC for which he's involved at multiple levels and teams.

"Tim and I will be switching roles in a way. I going to attend multiple games, be a heavily involved alum of the program like he was," Vieira added. "And I'm sure I'll coach again. They'll be a time when my kids won't need me around as much and I'll want to get back in somewhere, so to say I'll never coach again would be misnomer. I'll still be around."