Amidst political candidacy, Valley’s Muzzy Colosimo could be entering final season on sideline

By: George Guido
Thursday, August 26, 2021 | 2:40 PM

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In his 50th year of coaching, could this be the final roundup for Valley’s Muzzy Colosimo?

The venerable Vikings coach, now 71, has guided youngsters at many levels, including the high school ranks as a head coach at Valley for eight seasons and at Greensburg Central Catholic for 17 seasons.

Colosimo is on the Nov. 2 ballot as the Democratic nominee for Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts. Should he win, it is a full-time job, and he would obviously leave the coaching ranks.

Otherwise, the school board has opened up his job during the past two offseasons, so there’s that.

Colosimo is also the school district’s athletic director and the head of grounds and maintenance.

If this is to be his last season, it’ll be with a different Muzzy on the sidelines.

“I’ve changed my attitude a little bit,” the veteran coach said. “I was that old-school screaming and hollering and this year, I’m thinking this is probably going to be it for me and I want to have a good experience.”

Colosimo thanks Arnold resident Joe Naunchik for bringing him into the high school coaching ranks during the 1980s at Hempfield High School.

Said Colosimo: “I was running Hempfield’s recreation league, and Joe hired me at the junior high level and Gene Epply hired me at the high school until 1991. After that, I went to Franklin Regional and worked under (Al) Abby Mauro.”

He had a brief stint as an assistant at Valley before becoming the head coach at GCC in 1995. He also coached at a Christian school and at Greensburg’s Seton Hill University. Colosimo also coached the Pittsburgh Passion women’s football team.

“So I’ve literally coached at every level and every gender,” he said with a laugh. “I never had a year where I hated coaching. I love the kids, I love working to get them into college. I love coming to work every day. You stay close with the kids because you don’t know if they’ll ever need your help.”

Despite being 4-foot-10 and 88 pounds in high school, he always wanted to be a football player. He finally hooked on with a team sponsored by Westmoreland County Community College in Youngwood.

He entered the coaching ranks in the youth leagues for 14 seasons before Naunchik brought him on at Hempfield.

He has contacts with dozens of colleges, particularly those in Western Pennsylvania, that he’s been able to develop relationships with.

It’s tough for a Democrat to win in Westmoreland County these days, but Colosimo has name recognition and sometimes that means as much as anything in politics. If the election doesn’t work out in his favor and the New Kensington-Arnold School District decides to go in a different direction, Colosimo hasn’t closed the door to coaching.

“The only job I’m going to leave (coaching) for is the Clerk of Courts,” Colosimo said. “If I leave here, I’m going to find another place to coach.”

On the brink of the 2021 season, Colosimo feels Valley will be a strong entry in the Class 3A Allegheny 7 Conference. The Vikings have had four consecutive losing seasons, and the team wants to put a stop to that.

Valley did well in the 7-on-7s over the summer where the team developed depth, something all-important in the tier of smaller schools.

“I found out this year no matter who I put in at the 7-on-7s, they got the job done,” Colosimo said. “We played at Freeport and went undefeated, we played in the (Westmoreland) county’s and went 2-2, losing to Clairton and Norwin. We know we can run the ball and we know we can throw it.”

The Vikings are aware of playing for a coaching legend who has 166 high school victories.

“Playing for coach Muzzy is fun; he likes to have fun, but he can get serious at the same time,” junior Domanick Simmons said. “When it comes time for games and practice, he doesn’t play around. So we’re all serious then.”

Valley begins the season Friday at home against Hampton.

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