NEW CASTLE —
It won’t be official until Monday, but Mike Commesso is Shenango High’s new football coach.
The announcement was made to a group of parents and students after an executive session during the Shenango Area School Board’s work session Monday night, according to superintendent Mike Schreck.
“We had a group of maybe 50-60 people attending the meeting who were standing in the hallway,” Schreck said. “Our understanding was that some wanted to speak on the coaching situation and others wanted to speak on school safety. We told them the board was going into executive session and it probably would be awhile, so quite a few of them left.
“Once we were sure of our decision and that Mike Commesso was our man,” he added, “(board president) Al Burick went out and told them the board would be hiring him.”
Commesso, a 1991 Mohawk High graduate who lives in Aliquippa, graduated from Geneva College with a bachelor of arts degree in history before studying sports management at Robert Morris University. He has been part of the social studies department at Hopewell High for 12 years.
He started his coaching career in 1995, as an assistant coach at Union High before coaching at Mohawk from 1996-2000. He has been a varsity assistant at Hopewell from 2001-present, serving as defensive coordinator since 2008.
The Shenango board started its search with 22 candidates, according to Schreck, and brought in 11 for a first interview. Six candidates were granted a second interview, with the four finalists interviewed last night.
He said Commesso stood out to board members and administrators.
“He was extremely well-prepared and we feel he can relate to the students,” Schreck said. “We feel he has the ability to build a successful football program.”
Schreck said no teaching job is available at the present. Commesso will replace Ryan Mayo, who resigned at the end of the 2012 season.
Attempts to reach Commesso yesterday were unsuccessful.
(Email: kcubbal@ncnewsonline.com).
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High School Football: Commesso to become coach at Shenango
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