News: New Tuscarora High School Confirms Burnett as Football Coach, Adds Becky Puterio as XC Coach and Jeff Kaplan as Golf Coach

Leesburg (Jan. 28, 2010) - Tuscarora High School announced Wednesday evening that, as expected, two-time state champion Broad Run High School football coach Mike Burnett has been approved to lead the new Huskies program and the school opening in the fall also added Becky Puterio as cross country coach and Jeff Kaplan as golf coach.

According to a release from Tuscarora Athletic Director Derek Farrey: "(Puterio) is extremely excited about developing a new cross country program at Tuscarora High School, and she is looking forward to working with individuals she can develop from elementary school runners into high school athletes."

Puterio is currently as assistant cross country coach at Broad Run High School, where she has been for three years and her husband John Puterio is the wrestling coach. Before that she was an assistant track coach at Potomac Falls High School. She currently coaches "Girls on the Run" at Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School, and has been a volunteer coach with the Loudoun Track and Field club.

As an athlete herself, Puterio ran both cross country and track competitively in high school and college. She was the mile champion on the Massachusetts state championship track team during her senior year of high school, and competed for Mary Washington University during her collegiate years. Puterio currently teaches fifth grade at Frances Hazel Reid elementary school.

According to the release: " Kaplan is very excited and honored to be the inaugural head coach of the Tuscarora High School golf program."

Kaplan has been teaching and coaching for 16 years. He is currently a health and physical education teacher at Smart’s Mill Middle School and helping coach baseball at Heritage High School both located in Leesburg. Although Coach Kaplan has an extensive baseball background (14 years at the high school level), he has a great passion and knowledge for the game of golf. For the past three summers he has worked as a starter/marshall at Raspberry Falls Golf and Hunt and Belmont Country Club.

He graduated from Frostburg State University in 1990 with an exercise physiology degree. At Frostburg he was a member of the baseball, football and rugby teams. Upon graduation, he worked as an assistant Athletic Director/Trainer at Worldgate Athletic club in Herndon. In 1994, he received his health and physical education degree from the University of Maryland. Kaplan resides in Leesburg with his wife Christie, two sons, Brady and Garrett, and daughter, Courtenay.

The news about Burnett leaked out prior to official approval by the school board. According to the release: "He is extremely excited and looking forward to developing a new football program at Tuscarora High School."

Burnett has been coaching football for 12 seasons and prior to taking the job at Tuscarora High School, he served as the head football coach at Broad Run High School and Santa Monica High School in California.

At Broad Run, he led the Spartans to two VHSL Division 4 state championships and leaves the score on a 28-game winning streak while accumulating a record of 43-6. He was named the Washington Redskins Coach of the year in 2008 and the VHSCA AA Coach of the year in 2008 and 2009. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine where he played varsity football and basketball and received his law degree from the University of Washington, in Seattle.

Burnett is married to Kimberly Burnett, and has two sons, Jack and Sam.