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Donofrio back on sideline as coach at Kennedy Catholic

Written: Sep 10, 2010
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By JOE SIMON

New Castle News

Former Mohawk coach Archie Donofrio might still be on his deck enjoying retirement if not for Joe Kenneally.

Kenneally, Kennedy Catholic’s principal and former football coach, is an old friend of Donofrio, and when the head coaching position for football became available, he started to think about what he was looking for in the next coach.

“With 18 freshmen, you need someone who will be their father, their mentor, their disciplinarian,” Kenneally said. “You want someone who isn’t using the job as a stepping stone, someone who isn’t only focused on winning but also wants the kids to be better people at the end of the year.”

Kenneally knew Donofrio was the perfect person to provide those traits to a program that was enduring some difficult times and needed a change in attitude. Kenneally coached with Donofrio for nine years when the two were assistants at Kennedy Catholic (1995-2003). That background helped Kenneally understand exactly what he had to do in order to bring his old friend back to the sideline.

“I had a harder time talking his dad Chuck into letting Archie do it,” Kenneally said with a laugh. “He was enjoying hanging out with Archie all the time. So, once I got Chuck on board, I knew I had Archie.”

Not so fast. Donofrio hadn’t coached since he said he was forced to leave Mohawk following back surgery in 2008. He hadn’t been a head football coach since the early 1990s and, simply put, he was having a good time being retired. All that led to plenty of second-guessing by the 58-year-old Donofrio.

“When Mr. Kenneally called, I was sitting on the deck with my wife, just enjoying retirement,” Donofrio said. “And when he first came out and asked me, I said, ‘Let me think about it ... No.’ I said I really like this retirement stuff. He told me to think about it. Then he called and he texted, and he called and he texted. So I talked it over with my wife, and she said, ‘Well, whatever you want to do. If it makes you happy, then do it.’ She’s a big sports fan, so I’m really fortunate there.”

After pondering it, Donofrio decided he wanted to come back and coach. He said there were several reasons for his choice. Part of his logic centered on the state of the Golden Eagles’ football program. Kennedy Catholic, which not so long ago could play with any small school in the area, is 2-25 over the last three years, posting consecutive 1-8 seasons after going 0-9 in 2007. So he wanted to restore winning to the Golden Eagles as he took over for Tim Scarvel.

He also missed coaching, teaching both the kids and a young staff about the game.

“I was fortunate enough to have been mentored as a young coach by some great coaches who were at Mohawk,” Donofrio said. “John Samsa, who was a longtime basketball coach, Henry Pezzuolo, the baseball coach, Ron Lape, who used to coach track and of course (Donofrio’s former coach Al) Boggia and (former Kennedy Catholic coach John) Turco. It’s important that young coaches have the ability to get mentored. Unfortunately today, there aren’t as many veteran coaches who stick around long enough to do that.

“I learned different things from each one of them, and I hope I can pass that along to some other young coaches.”

Giving back played a crucial role in Donofrio’s return, which started last week with a 28-20 loss to Maplewood. Sure, he desperately wants to re-establish football at Kennedy Catholic — for himself, for Kenneally and for Turco. Yet, his true passion is demonstrating what football is all about to his team. Donofrio, a Mohawk alum, said he remembered a quote from his old football coach, Al Boggia.

“(Boggia) once told me that the hardest part of retiring from coaching is you have all this coaching knowledge and nothing to do with it,” he said. “So that intrigued me, too ... I really hope I can be as influential as a coach as Boggia and Turco were in my life. We tell the kids, ‘This is a game. We’re teaching life skills as well.’ I want them to come away from our program better than when they came into it. So, that’s why I’m here.”

One question still lingers, though. Why exactly was Kenneally so sure he could coerce Donofrio into coaching?

“Once (coaching) is in your eyes, it’s always in your eyes,” Kenneally said. “Even though I’m a high school administrator, when I look in the mirror, it’s still in my eyes. No matter what someone tells you, you can see it.

“It’s still in Archie Donofrio’s eyes.”
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