Pacifica native Nick Lotti takes over Terra Nova football

It stands to reason, as his grandfather Bob is a Pacifica legend, having served as a longtime head coach of the Terra Nova varsity football team. Now, the younger Lotti will be following in his grandfather’s footsteps, as he was named Terra Nova’s newest head coach earlier this year.

Lotti takes over for Jason Piccolotti, who served as the Tigers’ varsity head coach from 2019-23. Piccolotti stepped down following a disappointing 2023 season in which Terra Nova won its first three games only to close on a seven-game losing streak. Piccolotti’s son Vinny is an incoming freshman at St. Ignatius.

Lotti has connections to both names on Terra Nova’s football home. In 2021, the field was dedicated to his grandfather as Bob Lotti Field. Bill Gray Stadium is named for Bill Gray, for whom Nick Lotti both played and coached.

A 2012 graduate of Terra Nova, Lotti played for Gray as an offensive guard with the 2010 Central Coast Section Division III championship team. He returned to coach on Gray’s staff, and has served as a coach of the freshman team, JV head coach and varsity defensive line coach and special teams coordinator. Last season, he started the year as the team’s offensive line coach before finishing as the offensive coordinator.

“I’ve kind of done everything,” Lotti said.

Lotti is now a physical education teach at Jefferson. He long aspired to go into law enforcement, and never thought he’d be a varsity head coach.

“Not really,” Lotti said. “I only decided that recently that I wanted to coach and make that what I wanted to do for my career.”

While Lotti never saw his grandfather coach, he said his style has been influenced by Gray.

“A lot,” Lotti said. “I coached under him too. So, I got my first kind of intro under his style of coaching. ... He gives the kids a lot of respect and a lot of latitude with him. He’s very tough on them but he gives them a lot of respect and the chance to work on things and figure that all out.”

Lotti said he is retaining most of the coaching staff. Two notable exceptions are former offensive coordinator Jason Selli, who departed prior to the end of the 2023 season. Also, George Rush — the legendary City College of San Francisco retired football coach who worked as a defensive consultant under Piccolotti — is no longer affiliated with the Terra Nova program.

“No. 1, I’m keeping most of the staff around, so that’s a big plus,” Lotti said. “There’s only a couple of big things that I want to change but [Piccolotti] was really big on bringing in coaches and letting them play their part. … So, I’m kind of using that.”

Lotti said he is also placing a lot of faith in two of his returning players in incoming junior quarterback Joseph Donati, and senior offensive lineman/linebacker JT Snead.

“The [players] are looking really good,” Lotti said. “We’re not the biggest group of kids ... but they’re all really hard workers. They’re all really excited. I have a bunch of good senior leaders.”

While Lotti never saw his grandfather coach, he was in the house in 2021 when Terra Nova dedicated the field to him.

“Just having my whole family there was just really cool,” Lotti said. “And they got to sit and watch a game that I was also coaching. So, that was a lot of fun.”