Dave Heavner returns to alma mater as Valley’s new football coach

By: Bill Hartlep
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 | 4:26 PM

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Life is coming full circle for Dave Heavner.

The 1989 Valley High School graduate was named the Vikings head football coach Tuesday night and is ready to guide the program where he starred as a running back and linebacker and later served as an assistant coach.

“It’s a dream for everyone who played football to one day come back and coach the team they played for,” Heavner said.

Heavner replaces Muzzy Colosimo, who resigned in the fall after coaching eight seasons at Valley and 17 previous seasons at Greensburg Central Catholic.

After finishing his playing career at Lock Haven, Heavner returned to Valley as an assistant coach over two stints, in 1993-94 and 1999-2001. He credits the Valley coaches he played for and learned from as an assistant for providing the framework for his coaching philosophy.

“I was at the right place at the right time to be involved at Valley with the three most successful coaches in their history,” said Heavner.

Heavner called former Valley coach Joe Naunchik his mentor after he resuscitated the program and developed the Double V emblem.

He credited former Valley coach Sam Albert with building the “Death Valley culture.”

“It was a culture of excellence and culture of dominance and confidence that when you put that helmet on, you represent the community, ourselves and our families,” Heavner said.

And he also learned from his position coach and defensive coordinator, Ray “Whizzer” White, who became the school’s all-time winningest head coach and guided the Vikings to three conference titles in eight seasons, including the undefeated 1996 campaign.

“There’s three men I want to replicate what I learned from them and enhance and go further,” Heavner said. “They meant so much to me. They taught me not only about the game of football and coaching but the importance of education and being a first-class individual.”

The comforts of home were a major draw for Heavner, who stressed a pride in representing the New Kensington-Arnold community.

“I’ve grown up in New Kensington-Arnold my entire life,” he said. “My parents still live in New Kensington. I’ve taught there at Valley Middle School for a couple years. I coached there as defensive coordinator and assistant coach. It’s coming home.”

Heavner, 50, is believed to be the second former Valley player to lead the Vikings (Eugene Ciciarelli, 1985). He said several former teammates and other alumni have reached out with their support and congratulations.

“I think that brings an instant bond with all those who played and wore the gold helmet before me and those who will wear it in the future,” he said.

This isn’t Heavner’s first head coaching stint in the A-K Valley. He went 8-10 over two seasons at Burrell (2006-07) and was the head coach for five seasons at Kiski Area, going 18-31 from 2012-16.

He also was an assistant coach at Riverview, Burrell, Butler, Fox Chapel, Gateway, Franklin Regional and Highlands. Heavner was the defensive coordinator for Franklin Regional when the Panthers won the 2005 WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A titles.

He has been on a coaching hiatus the past few years while he continued his educational pursuits. He is a counselor in the Gateway School District.

“Some of the things we liked about him was his dedication to academics, his organization, his experience, his skill set and the structure and discipline that he’ll bring to the team and to the district, as well as the fact that he’s a Valley guy,” school board president Tim Beckes said. “It just felt like a really good fit, and we’re excited for him to start.”

Heavner plans to meet with the players next week, build a coaching staff as soon as possible and get working on an offseason conditioning program.

“My daily goal first and foremost is to seek to help and build each member of the program, whether it’s an assistant coach or player. We want to work on their bodies and hearts and souls,” he said. “I’ll try daily to make an authentic connection to everyone within the program. That includes parents and teachers and administrators. I want to make a connection with everyone there.

“For the players, I want to build confidence, maximize their potential in school, in their social lives and certainly on the football field. Last thing I want to work on is preparing them to contribute daily in classrooms and on the football field. We want to work on community service contributions in the community in New Kensington-Arnold and be prepared to represent the community each and every Friday night to the best of our ability.”

Colosimo’s resignation as athletic director and assistant director of buildings and grounds also was accepted by the New Kensington-Arnold School Board on Tuesday.

As part of his severance package, he will receive nine months of pay from March 1 to Nov. 30; group term life and accidental death insurance of $75,000; $40 per day for accumulated sick days; per diem rate of $206 for all unused vacation days; and participation in health, dental and vision insurance for him and his spouse through Nov. 30.

“We’d like to thank Muzzy for his time and dedication to the student-athletes of Valley,” Beckes said.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Valley