Jun. 18—HEGINS — Some schools and coaches are synonymous.
Ken Schneck and Dave Homa at Minersville.
Joe Cesari and Lafay Hope at North Schuylkill.
Scott Buffington and John Davis at Schuylkill Haven.
Mention a name, and one school immediately comes to mind.
At Tri-Valley, that coach is Marty Shade.
An assistant football coach for decades and a basketball scorekeeper for years, Shade is most well-known for coaching softball. The Bulldogs’ head coach for 30 seasons, the lifelong resident of Valley View has guided his team to the pinnacle — the PIAA Class A softball championship game — for the first time in program history.
The District 11 champion Dawgs (24-2) will take on District 7 champion West Greene (21-2) for state gold at 11 a.m. today at Penn State’s Nittany Lion Softball Park.
“Out of nowhere, Tri-Valley is 24-2, and we’re going to Penn State,” Shade said after Monday’s semifinal victory over Halifax. “I’m so happy for the girls.
“People talk about how long I’ve been coaching, and I’m finally getting a chance to go,” he added. “Naturally I want to win a state title every year, but if we don’t win a state title, coaching Tri-Valley kids is so much more rewarding to me — football and softball.”
Coaches like Shade are increasingly rare these days. He’s a constant: He’s there day after day, year after year, pouring his emotions and effort into the program to help young people for 30 years at the same school.
Many coaches today last a few years, maybe a decade, before moving on to a different school or taking some time off away from the game. Demands off the field and the time and effort required during the offseason to compete at a high level become too much for so many.
Not Shade.
The 63-year-old has lived in the Valley his whole life. He’s a 1976 Tri-Valley High School graduate who bleeds red, white and black.
Shade’s softball teams have been remarkably consistent, with just one losing season in 30 years. His program has produced some of the best players in Schuylkill League history, legends like Juli Weber and Becca Kehler, among dozens of others. His career record is 449-192 (.700).
“I love coaching at Tri-Valley, and the bonus is we’re now going to Penn State,” Shade said.
The dean of Schuylkill League softball head coaches, Shade has had impacts beyond his own team.
Minersville coach Jamie Kuehn remembers being a young head coach more than a decade ago at Schuylkill Haven. One of the first coaches he met was Shade.
“I was in my early 20s at Schuylkill Haven, and Marty Shade, an opposing coach, welcomed me to the Schuylkill League,” Kuehn said. “He gave me advice on scheduling to help Schuylkill Haven qualify for the district playoffs. I used it, and he helped us. … He was a peer and a mentor to me as a young coach.”
Now the head coach at Minersville in Division II of the Schuylkill League, along with Tri-Valley, Williams Valley, Nativity and Schuylkill Haven, Kuehn said there’s a lot of respect between Tri-Valley and Minersville in a very competitive league. Kuehn called it “healthy competition.”
“He’s a coach with a lot of character. He’s a coach with a lot of class,” Kuehn said. “He really has dedicated himself to Tri-Valley athletics. He’s in it for the right reasons.”
Over in the next valley, Lee Reiser was Williams Valley’s softball head coach for 23 seasons. He has spent the last several years as an assistant with the Vikings as he spends more time watching his grandchildren grow.
Reiser talked about similarities he sees between himself and Shade. They both love the game and they love to see the kids in the program grow, to be a positive influence in producing quality adults.
Shade leads by example, deflecting credit from himself after wins to his players and assistant coaches, Dan Deitrich, Brett Reed and former player Katie Rabuck.
Shade takes the blame after losses, and he’s one of the first to congratulate the opponent, even after tough defeats. Win or lose, he’ll stand on the field and answer reporters’ questions or call in his result to the local media.
“I’ve known him for most of my life,” Reiser said. “He’s a great guy, and he was always second fiddle his whole career to us and Minersville, and now …
“I’m just so happy for him to finally get there (to the finals),” Reiser added. “He’s put in his time. He’s great for the kids. He’s such a gentleman.”
Talking during a break in practice Tuesday afternoon, Shade described the buzz surrounding the Dawgs in the Valley and how the timing couldn’t be better for their historic run to the state finals.
“With what’s going on in the world, it’s great to see some good news, people smiling, talking about the girls instead of COVID,” Shade said. “It’s great for the Valley.”
Always thinking of others, Shade quickly added: “Baseball had a good year, too.”
Contact the writer: blipsky@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6012: @boblipskyRH on Twitter