My passion has always been helping others.  I have been able to do a lot of that through teaching and coaching. Whether it was volunteering at summer day camps, teaching in a classroom, or coaching on a field, I believe that sports and games can be a great way for kids to grow physically, mentally, emotionally and socially.   I believe working hard, giving your best effort, and having a positive attitude can make every individual and team ready to compete and enjoy what they do. 

Middle school and high school are some of my favorite memories. Through sports and activities, I still have friendships to this day, that started with kids on those teams! I would recommend to any kid looking for advice in this crazy world of youth sports today, play as much and as many sports and activities as you can, and enjoy your friendships and competing. Sure the dream might be to play professionally, and if that is your ultimate goal, having friends and competing in multiple activities could only help you achieve that goal.

Wow, so glad I got to go to college! Those times both hard and rewarding, were so worth the experiences, and life lessons I still carry with me today.  I learned so much about myself and others through college. I played baseball at IUP, and for two summers I left Pittsburgh and played in the north eastern collegiate baseball league for the Geneva nights. I met a lot of kids from different areas of the country and we actually won the championship the one year and I was the starting pitcher in the championship game.  I was involved in other intramurals at IUP, like basketball and ping-pong. I played pick up football, ultimate frisbee and anything we could do as friends to enjoy the experience. Meeting new people, having and losing relationships was all part of the experience and I can’t thank my parents enough for putting me through college! Thank you again mom and dad!

I did not start my teaching career immediately after school. I was working my tail off to try and play professional baseball. Ultimately I signed as a free agent with the Seattle Mariners, and got to experience spring training in Arizona. Unfortunately, even through my best efforts and great pitching in spring training, it wasn’t in my cards, and I got released the final day of spring training. But again, another bump in the road gave me more desire to work harder, and I learned a lot about myself.  I will never forget the experience I had with the Seattle Mariners, even if it was as short as only a month.  

After that I bounced around for different independent professional teams in Canton Ohio, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and even after teaching and coaching for a handful years, I tried again to play.  I got picked up by the Camden Riversharks and played throughout the East Coast in the Atlantic league.  I felt stronger than ever at 30 years old, throwing between 94-98mph depending on the gun.  I got offered a contract with the Toronto Blue Jays with no guarantees.  I cried happy tears knowing that I put in so many hours mentally and physically to earn this opportunity again in my life. And then I cried different tears when ultimately having to decline the offer, after finding out that I would have to resign my teaching job.  I had a lot of faith in myself but I didn’t want to lose that job for my future and my family.  It might be one regret I will take to the grave.  However, I got to play with and against a lot of former major league players and got to see some get called up to the major leagues.   My travels took me throughout many of the United States and Canada, and although there were some long days and loneliness at times.  The comradery among the clubhouses and being able to compete, presented some great memories.   The ups and downs gave me the work ethic and never ending positive attitude that I have with me today.

I felt that I could always relate to kids and people through sports and activities. I feel they create an extremely complex learning environment, physically emotionally and socially. And I love to help lead kids and people to understand themselves and their abilities through any and all activities.  That’s why I chose to be a health and physical education teacher. I taught one year in Montgomery county in Maryland because one of my best friends got a job there, and that was when I was giving up the dream of plying baseball professionally. The next year I had a chance to interview at my alma mater North Hills and got that job, and have been teaching there for the past 20 or so odd years.  I still continue to play baseball and pick up basketball and any other sports and activities with friends or family throughout the years and to this day!

I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to coach so many different sports and activities, at all different grade levels, both boys and girls throughout the years. Basketball, soccer, football, organizing field days, neighborhood games, birthday parties, I feel like I was born to organize, encourage, and help kids be better at sports and life.  

Coaching high school baseball at North Hills high school and Pine-Richland high school really tested my abilities and experiences to help make those teams better.  Learning as I went, and meeting some outstanding other coaches, and assistants really shaped how I coach today, and how different I am than when I first started coaching.  Being able to teach the finer nuances of the game and mental approach is where I really feel I made a difference with some players

I can’t even tell you how many former players both boys and girls, that I run into that now, have gotten into coaching or helping their own kids team, and it is just one of the happiest feelings in the world to see them grow up and give back.

I have been giving lessons as long as I can remember.  It’s so great to see the desire and the brain connections for kids when teaching them about certain skills and progressions. When they make a change and have success you can just see the smile on their face and it’s priceless.

You want to talk about rewarding! Coaching your own child and seeing them succeed, and the smile on their face, and the hugs that you get, there’s nothing better in the world to me than that! Well there’s one thing that’s better, seeing kids fail, BUT, not give up, and showing resilience and coming back after failure to succeed. That’s something we don’t get enough of. That’s something that can and has brought tears to my eyes.   So many people don’t want to see their kid fail, but I feel like it has taught me and others more about yourself than winning ever will. Winning is your reward for all of your hard work. Getting back up after you were knocked down is a life lesson you cannot buy.

I have coached youth sports and helped out at the youth center, for years now. Mostly with baseball and basketball.  As my three boys are growing up and moving on from grade to grade, I understand how to utilize skill progressions to build confidence.  I know kids and people in general want to get better, they want to learn.  I find ways to challenge players to get better each and every day. I try to incorporate how important each member of a team is to a team sport, but individually how much value they bring to the team.

I can’t say enough about how much I enjoy our community sports and activity programs in Pine Richland. I want the friendships we have made through sports and activities to last forever.