By John D'Abruzzo
Paul Malley Jr. was waiting for this opportunity.
Becoming the head varsity baseball coach at New Castle High has been his dream ever since he played second base for the Red Hurricane prior to graduating in 1997.
Last night, his dream became a reality when the New Castle Area School Board hired Malley as head baseball coach to replace Don Runyon.
“I’m thrilled,” he said. “It’s every coach’s dream to come back and coach the team they once played for.”
Malley was given a four-year contract and will be paid $3,624 a season. He was hired by a 5-1 vote.
Board member Barbara Razzano voted no. Board members Philip Conti, Donna Donati and Karen Humphrey were absent. Conti and Donati were sick, while Humphrey was in Hershey for an education conference.
The district also rehired softball coach Amy Johnson. She was given a four-year contract and will be paid $3,341.
Malley, 29, has spent the past three seasons as head coach at Slippery Rock High School. He guided the Rockets to a 30-26 record and two trips to the playoffs during his tenure.
Last year, Slippery Rock went 9-11 and advanced to the first round of the District 10, Class AAA playoffs.
“One of the main points with him is that he has head coaching experience,” school board member J. Allan Joseph said. “He played at New Castle and graduated from New Castle, and he had a really great interview.
“He’s got a pulse on the kids and the type of kids we have in our district. He did a nice job at Slippery Rock.”
“Where our program is and to get it to move on, we felt he would be the best candidate,” board member Mark Kirkwood added.
Runyon resigned from the position soon after the WPIAL issued a penalty that included a five-game suspension and coaches education classes during a hearing on May 21.
It was determined that Runyon violated WPIAL and PIAA rules when he scheduled a nonsection game with Neshannock the day after he and his two assistants, John Mozzocio and Chuck Stone, were ejected during a Section 1-AAA game at Hampton. The coaches were scheduled to sit out the next game against Ambridge on May 5, but instead sat out when the ’Canes played the Lancers.
New Castle went 5-7 in its section and 9-12 overall last season. The ’Canes advanced to the first round of the Class AAA playoffs and lost to North Allegheny.
“Donny did a great job with the program and getting them into the playoffs the past few seasons,” said Malley, who is expecting his first child with his wife Leslie next week. “He fielded a competitive team every season. I don’t know the kids, but I think we’re going to get a solid core and build from that.”
Before taking over at Slippery Rock, Malley served as a varsity assistant at New Castle in 2004-05.
“It’s a different generation,” said Malley, who works for Aramark in the Slippery Rock Area School District as the facilities director. “I know they have a lot of talent lost from over the past two years. I’m sure we’re going to have good enough players to fill a good squad.”
Malley has been coaching organized baseball since he was 16. He’s served as an assistant coach in the New Castle Amateur Baseball Association as well as the Blue Chip Baseball Prospects Showcase. He also served as the American Legion head coach for Post 343 in 2005.
“I’ve climbed the ladder coaching, and I feel I climbed the right way and the time was right,” Malley said. “I believe we have a ton of talent in the city baseball-wise. We have plenty of athletes right here for the taking.”
Malley looks forward to getting his team together for offseason workouts. He knows New Castle will have its hands full when spring rolls around.
“For the last couple of years, you always have to compete with Blackhawk,” Malley said. “Recently, Hampton has fielded some good baseball teams.
“With high school sports, on any given day, a bounce here and there and come into play and take you out of a game. We’re not going to take anyone for granted.”
