New Shady Side Academy football coach Dinardo: ‘I’m very lucky’

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, August 6, 2017 | 11:45 PM

Chuck DiNardo is full of optimism as he heads into his first season as football coach at Shady Side Academy.

“Taking over as head coach, there's certainly no shortage of work to do. But I just feel so grateful that I'm in the position that it doesn't seem like work. I'm enjoying building relationships with our players and their families,” DiNardo said. “I'm very lucky to be in the position I'm in. I have the privilege of coaching really great kids. They are bright young men who display all the character, discipline and selflessness that football develops.”

DiNardo wasn't overly taken aback when long-time coach Dave Havern stepped down last spring.

“I wasn't surprised when Dave stepped down. He and Gene Deal have had a great vision for the program and had planned for the future. Dave has worked so hard to build up Shady Side Academy football for so many years.

“He was instrumental in bringing in the turf, Friday night football and the Farrell Stadium construction. Dave had planned on retiring from his post as the Associate Athletic Director and thought this was a good time to take a step back in his role as head coach, too. We're very lucky that he has agreed to stay on and run the offense as well as continue to coach the quarterbacks. It makes for a very smooth transition to have Dave helping me out in my first season. But he deserves to enjoy his retirement. His wife, Mary Jean, deserves to have her husband around a little more after all these years.”

DiNardo feels his team will show dramatic improvement from last year.

“I can tell you that we will be a hard-working, smart football team that is going to compete on the field as well as in the classroom. I have a great group of guys who trust in each other and put in a great deal of work in the months leading up to camp. I think we have something to prove coming off a disappointing season. Hopefully we've learned from our experiences and use them as motivation.

He has plans for both sides of the ball.

“Offensively, we are returning the bulk of our guys to a squad that scored three or more touchdowns in five of its eight games last season. We feel we have a number of guys who can make plays with the ball in their hands. Our plan is to get lots of different people touches in different ways. We have some guys who can run, and we think we can stretch the field both vertically and horizontally.

“Defensively, we have committed ourselves this summer to becoming a more physical and more fundamental unit. First and foremost, we will be a sound tackling group. We will pursue to the ball and tackle in bunches. Dave Szlachetka is once again heading up our defense, and he will run multiple fronts and multiple coverages and will ask a lot of our student-athletes as he always does. Dave is a great football mind and a better man. He has been the defensive coordinator at Shady Side since 1999, my senior year.”

DiNardo plans on making some changes, though nothing drastic.

“As with anything, there will be some changes to the program with a new leader. Some new wrinkles on both sides of the ball will be present. Some of the structural elements of how we practice will be revamped. But at heart, our core values, are going to remain the same. We have a great staff that has, for the most part, been together for years. One of the things that makes this such a nice transition for me is that I have three former head coaches on my staff in Dave Havern, Steve Moyer, and Jason Bell.

“We are hoping to field a roster somewhere in the thirties. We know that we are one of the smallest schools in our class. We are well aware that we will most likely have a much smaller roster than everyone we play. We can't control the PIAA enrollment numbers or the rosters at other schools. So we must focus on what we can control, which is being in the best physical conditioning possible.”

The Indians will have their PIAA-mandated heat acclimatization from 9 a.m. until noon through Friday. Camp begins Aug. 14.

Marty Stewart is a freelance writer.

Tags: Shady Side Academy