An All-America soccer forward on the first-ever Cortland team to compete in an NCAA Tournament, Ronald Zorn ’61, a high school physics and chemistry teacher, became an influential catalyst for the growth of boy’s soccer in Section Five.
A graduate of Churchville-Chili High School, Zorn was a three-time All-SUNYAC and All-New York State forward for Coach T. Fred “Prof” Holloway’s soccer squads at Cortland. A senior co-captain, he earned All-America honors when there was only one division for all college and university soccer teams in the U.S. His prolific 0.92 goals-per-game scoring average is still a school record nearly a half-century later.
Zorn helped lead Cortland to the 1959 and 1960 SUNYAC and the 1960 New York State Intercollegiate championships. Cortland was one of only eight teams in the nation invited to play for the 1960 NCAA Soccer Championship.
While at Cortland, Zorn also played junior varsity baseball and soccer. He was involved with the House of Delegates, Cardinal Key, the Masquers, Dorm Council and Gamma Tau Sigma fraternity. He was his junior class vice president, the 1961 Winter Carnival King and head resident in Hendrick Hall. He was listed in Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.
Zorn earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from Cortland. He later received a master’s degree from Antioch College and completed post-graduate studies at a number of institutions. Zorn taught junior high science briefly at Rush-Henrietta and Spencerport Central Schools before teaching high school physics and chemistry at Spencerport from 1964-96. He was the Science Department chair for 21 years.
He coached freshman boys’ basketball, varsity boys’ volleyball and freshman and junior varsity boys’ soccer at Spencerport. He was the varsity assistant at Spencerport when it captured five Section Five soccer titles and the 1972 state championship.
Zorn became active within Section Five boys soccer as its coordinator from 1980-92 and Advisory Committee member from 1986-88. He served on the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Boys Soccer Committee from 1980-2001, all but two years as recording secretary, and was its chair for the last nine years of that term.
A former college and high school soccer and high school basketball referee, Zorn received both the Honor Award and the Distinguished Achievement Award from Section Five for his contributions to the development of its boys’ soccer. In 2003, the Section Five boys’ soccer Player of the Year Award was renamed in Zorn’s honor.
Zorn also has received The Outstanding Science Teacher of the Year Award from Rochester Institute of Technology. He is a member of Section Five Boys Soccer, the New York State Soccer Coaches Association and the Spencerport Central School Halls of Fame.
He has been active in his community with the Churchville Volunteer Fire Department, the Town of Riga Recreation Commission and the Union Congregational United Church of Christ.
Zorn and his wife, Alice, have two children: Chris and Jennifer.
