2009 Coaches

 

 

 

 

Ken Davis – A native of

Pottstown, Davis graduated from Pottstown High and East Stroudsburg University.

After two years teaching in Bangor, he returned to the Pottstown School District

where he taught and coached for the next 30 years. After spending a number of

years working his way up the coaching ladder, Davis was handed the reins at

Pottstown High in 1980 and has fashioned a 374-101 varsity record since. He

wasted little time in establishing his team as a perennial power. By the 1982-83

season he won his first District 1 Class AA championship. His teams would go on

to play in 10 district championship games. When Pottstown High moved up to AAA

classification, even though the competition stiffened, the dominance continued.

Pottstown won the District 1 AAA championship in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993

and 1995. Davis led his team into the state tournament 13 times and made it to

the quarterfinal level seven times. The highlight of his career came in 1993

when Pottstown won the state championship. Other high water marks included a

27-1 record in 1988, a 28-3 record before losing in the state title game in 1991

and a 30-2 record in 1995. In eight different seasons Davis received Coach of

the Year awards from different organizations.

 

 

Larry Glueck

– One

of the most storied athletes ever to come out of Lansdale Catholic High, Glueck

was named the MVP in football, basketball and baseball during his senior year,

1958-59. He then went on to a standout football career at Villanova, a

three-year starter at running back and defensive back. He played in the Sun Bowl

and Liberty Bowl before playing in the historic 1963 College All-Star Game in

Chicago, in which the college team defeated the vaunted World Champion Green Bay

Packers 20-17. After an injury shortened three-year career with the Chicago

Bears, Glueck began his coaching career as an assistant at Upper Merion High

under Fran Murphy. Soon he moved to the college ranks, serving as a highly

regarded assistant coach at Villanova, Penn, Lehigh and Harvard. His defensive

acumen was known throughout the college ranks.  In 1986 Glueck became head

coach at Fordham (N.Y.) University. He was immediately honored as Liberty

Conference Coach of the Year in 1987 and 1988. The Rams made it into the

Division II national playoffs in 1987, defeating Hofstra in a first round game.

In 1990 Glueck took on the greatest challenge of his career, leading Fordham in

the transition from Division III to Division I AA. He left Fordham after the

1993 season and has kept busy by coaching and teaching independently in camps

and instructional clinics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vonnie Gros –

When

Vonnie Gros came to Ursinus in the mid-50s, she embarked on one of the school’s

most celebrated athletic careers. In 1957 she was named All-American in both

field hockey and lacrosse. She then played on the United States National Field

Hockey Team for 13 years after graduating from Ursinus. But she would go on to

make an even greater name for herself as a coach. At West Chester University she

coached the field hockey team to a 118-6-13 record. She also coached the

lacrosse team. Gros also went on to coach field hockey at Princeton and Ursinus,

but it was on the national and international stages that she really gained

recognition. She was selected to coach the U.S. Olympic field hockey team in

1980. It was the athletic highlight of her life, only to be ruined when the

United States decided to boycott the Olympic Games in Moscow. Fortunately, Gros

would receive a second chance when she was asked to return to coach the 1984

Olympic team. Despite being heavy underdogs, she led the U.S. to a bronze medal

in 1984, a breakthrough accomplishment for the country in that sport. She has

been inducted into the USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame (1988) and the

Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter Lacrosse Hall of Fame (2002). 

 

 

 

Vince Souto

– Not only did Vince Souto give of his timme, leadership and baseball expertise for

27 years at the helm of the St. Titus CYO baseball program, but he molded teams

from the tiny parish into powerhouses throughout the Philadelphia Archdiocese.

His teams won eight Region 21 CYO championships and twice captured the

Philadelphia Archdiocesan title. Souto also spent four years as a coach for the

East Norriton Junior Legion team and two years as a coach of the East Norriton

12-year-old girls softball team. A patient coach, with a quiet but firm way of

leading his players, Souto made many friends throughout the St. Titus Athletic

Association (STAC). Many of his players have kept in touch with him over the

years.

 

 

Mike Creciun

– During the ‘80s and early ‘90s, when the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League

returned to a position of dominance among amateur baseball leagues in Eastern

Pennsylvania, Mike Creciun was one of the most notable figures in the league’s

reemergence. First as a player, then as a manager, Creciun was constantly

involved in rebuilding the league. After a notable career as a player, Creciun

took over the manager’s position with the Norristown A’s. In four seasons he

guided them to three final series appearances and one Perky League championship.

In 1987 he moved over to rival Collegeville and solidified his role as an

outstanding manager. He led Collegeville to six championships in eight seasons,

putting a firm grip on the word “dynasty.” It was during that time he did the

most to advance the image of the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League.

 

 

 

 

Hank Cisco

– Over the years Frank “Hank Cisco&##8221; Ciaccio has been honored on so many different

levels that it only seems natural to go back to his younger days when he first

made a name for himself. Before he ever became a television show host or the

official Ambassador of Norristown, Cisco was a young police officer who took a

special interest in kids. Passing on knowledge from his days as a professional

boxer, Cisco started programs to take youngsters off the streets and into the

gym. Not only did he teach them how to box, he taught them self-respect and the

value of self-discipline. Today, there are countless numbers of area businessmen

and civic leaders who are proud to say that they learned a bit about boxing

under the tutelage of Cisco.

 

 

Rich

Lachenmayer – For 26 of the last 34 years, Rich Lachenmayer has been coaching baseball on some

level in Upper Merion Township. He first got involved with the Upper Merion

Baseball Association and got involved on a number of different levels. He also

served on the UMBA Board of Directors for five years. In 1985 he helped found

the Upper Merion High School Booster Club. He then got involved on the American

Legion level as an assistant coach for both the Vito’s Pizza and Madison Bank

teams. From 1997 to the present he has served as both assistant coach and

manager of the Valley Forge Generals in American Legion baseball and has become

well-known in area baseball circles.

 

 

 

Bob Levy

– Levy’s legacy began 56 years ago, in 1953, when he

founded the Little Quakers. No, the Little Quakers is not some sort of peace

movement for youth. In fact, the Little Quakers have delivered their share of

punishment to those they faced over the last 56 years. Instead the Little

Quakers is a non-profit organization founded to promote excellence in youth

football for the Greater Philadelphia area. More than 2,000 13 and 14-year-old

boys, not weighing more than 145 pounds, have been blessed by Levy’s foresight

and generosity. His vision of an outstanding academic All-Star team has

withstood the test of time. “I feel very honored to receive this award but,

honestly, my work with the Little Quakers has been a labor of love,” explained

Levy, when contacted about the award. Over the years Levy has served as head

coach and financier of the Little Quakers. A longtime resident of Lower Merion

Township, Levy has devoted countless hours to his pet project. Each year a 35-40

boy squad is selected from more than 300 candidates from the top boys’ leagues

in the Delaware Valley. The boys are recommended by their league coaches and

they must be excellent students academically, as well as being standouts on the

football field.

 

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