PV's Jay Hoffman (CHS '64) And Charlie Williams Cited By Wrestling Officials
March 24, 1985|by RUDY BEDNAR, Sunday Call-Chronicle
EXCERPT:
Hoffman has much the same sports background, beginning at Coaldale High where he played guard on Geno Poli's unbeaten 1962 football team. He also was a member of the Tigers basketball and track teams before graduating in 1964.
He matriculated to East Stroudsburg U. and as a freshman wrestled for the first time in intramurals. Hoffman joined the Panther Valley faculty right off the ESU campus in 1968 and the following year became the assistant wrestling coach as the school launched its first varsity season on the mats.
Ten years later upon the retirement of Spisak, a 1980 hall of fame inductee, Hoffman took over as head coach. He ran a two-week clinic in the grades to cultivate interest in wrestling. One of his objectives now is to develop an elementary school wrestling program because he feels the future of the sport at the school will depend on it.
FULL ARTICLE:
This is the time of year the Pottsville Chapter of Wrestling officials likes to honor those persons who have helped promote the sport in Schuylkill County.
The group checks out officials, wrestlers, coaches, administrators and sometime even fans to select nominees to its hallowed hall of fame according to Lou Mueller of Jim Thorpe, a past president of the chapter and chairman of the induction program which will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday in Pottsville.
Three have been chosen for the 1985 ritual including Panther Valley High wrestling coach Jay Hoffman and the school's longtime athletic director Charlie Williams. Also being honored is former Blue Mountain grappler Joe Onuskanich who has been active as a knee-high wrestling coach at the school.
"I can't think of any more worthy choices," said Mueller, who was among the trio enshrined a year ago. But, Williams and Hoffman aren't so sure. "How come, me, there must be some mistake, I've had a losing record," Hoffman wrote back to the nominating committee after being informed he was to be one of the nominees.
Williams, too, questioned his selection. "I don't know what I might have done to deserve this honor, but I am deeply honored," he said.
Actually, whether the two realize it or not they have contributed a great deal to wrestling according to Dennis O'Donnell of Lansford, a member of the nominating committee. "We don't just look at the record of a coach but rather we are more interested in honoring those that have helped the sport grow in our area in any way," O'Donnell replied.
And that is exactly what this year's inductees have done. Hoffman has been involved with the Panthers' mat program since its very beginning and Williams is credited with his avid interest in the sport and for bringing districts into Schuylkill County's backyard.
Up until about seven years ago, PIAA District 11 always held the district tournaments in the Lehigh Valley area but Williams who wanted to give schools in the northern reaches of a district a chance to compete closer to home made some inquiries and made it be known that his school would be interested in being the host for the annual championships.
The district obliged by switching the Class AA competition to Panther Valley High school in 1977 and it's been held there ever since. Williams served as site manager up until this year when he was given the added duties of tournament manager. "Thereis more to arranging a tournament like this than meets the eye," explains Williams, pointing out that under the present format a lot more wrestlers participate than they used to.
"Just the pairings alone is a job, and then, of course, arranging the bouts-often using as many as four mats, plus seeing that everything runs smoothly and on time (something he was complimented on this year) is what it's all about," says Williams.
The fact that he knew little about the sport until it was first introduced at the school in 1967 hadn't detracted from his interest. Williams recalls how patient everyone had to be back when the team practiced in the high school gym in Lansford but wrestled its matches in Coaldale which meant transporting the mats back and forth.
But, his love of sports goes way back to when he played football and basketball in high school. The 1947 Lansford High grad went on to West Chester U. and was involved in the school's intramural sports program until his graduation in 1951. Then Williams spent several years as a sports writer and sports editor with the Call-Chronicle, Lansford Evening Record and Pottsville Republican before turning to teaching in 1964.
A year later, he succeeded the late Tom Raymer as athletic director of the new jointure and steadily helped develop the school's athletic program. At the same time, his talents were sought elsewhere as president of the sprawling 74- school Eastern Interscholastic Athletic Conference for the past six years (a post he will relinquish at the end of this month) and also as the current president of the PIAA District 11 athletic directors assn.
Hoffman has much the same sports background, beginning at Coaldale High where he played guard on Geno Poli's unbeaten 1962 football team. He also was a member of the Tigers basketball and track teams before graduating in 1964.
He matriculated to East Stroudsburg U. and as a freshman wrestled for the first time in intramurals. Hoffman joined the Panther Valley faculty right off the ESU campus in 1968 and the following year became the assistant wrestling coach as the school launched its first varsity season on the mats.
Ten years later upon the retirement of Spisak, a 1980 hall of fame inductee, Hoffman took over as head coach. He ran a two-week clinic in the grades to cultivate interest in wrestling. One of his objectives now is to develop an elementary school wrestling program because he feels the future of the sport at the school will depend on it.
Hoffman's first team finished 8-3-3 but his forces have fallen on hard times since. This past season the Panthers struggled through a 3-15 campaign but according to the veteran mentor "this was a young team with only a couple of seniors so I look for a much better finish next year."
He also can look forward to continued representation in states, one of the trademarks of his coaching career. Hoffman has managed to send nine wrestlers including Ed Kennedy this year into the state race. His best year was 1982 when Marty Maurer, Tom Tessitore and Ron Goides made the trek.
Source: http://articles.mcall.com/1985-03-24/sports/2452515_1_wrestling-four-mats-honored
