CYO Coach tallies more than 54 years of service
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by Tony Santini ith schools merging throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, organized sports under the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) is in fluctuation. One thing that hasn’t changed in the past 50 years, however, is the service provided by Vince DiPietro,
Youth Sports Director for the South Philadelphia CYO Sports program. South Philly born and bred, Coach DiPietro grew up at 28th & Wharton, lived on the 1200 block of Newkirk for a while and spent most of his 56 years of married life on the 2600 block of Snyder Avenue where he and wife Betty raised four children: Vince Jr., Donna, Joseph and Stephanie. By day, Vince was a Paint Chemist for the Dupont Company before
retiring. By night, weekends, holidays and summer vacation, Vince spent just about all of his free time coaching, managing or directing his own children and a throng of neighborhood kids who played CYO sports between 1958 and today - more than 150,000 student athletes. From 1958 to 1962, Vince served as Coach of the King of Peace Boys Basketball Freshman & Sophomore teams. Since
1962, he has served as the Commissioner of CYO 7th & 8th Grade Boys Basketball. From 1974 to 2000, he served on the Athletic Board for Youth Sports for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Currently, he is the Coordinator of Athletic Ministry (Athletic Director) for CYO Region 6 Sports which includes all of South Philadelphia. He reflects on the young athletes that advanced successfully into high school, collegiate or professional sports careers as a result of the CYO Sports program. Bobby Atene (Basketball) St. Edmond’s, St. Joe’s; Steve Melchiore (Basketball) St. Edmond’s, Penn State; George
Riley (Baseball) Stella Maris, Chicago Cubs; Mike Koplove (Baseball) Holy Spirit, Arizona Diamondbacks; Tommy DiMuzio (Football) St. Edmond’s, Dallas Cowboys; Ramon Moore (Basketball) St. Gabe’s, Chicago Bulls; and the late, great John Marzano (Baseball) Annunciation, Boston Red Sox. Vince says he would like to see coaches teach young athletes the fundamentals of the game. “There’s more in life than just winning,” he says. “Respect for authority, for other coaches, other players and themselves.” Not a bad adage for any of us to prh follow.
Ss. John Neumann-Maria Goretti Catholic High School Congratulations to the Graduating Class of 2012 at Ss. John Neumann and Maria Goretti High School. Amassing over $10 million in college scholarships!
㨀...Success start here 1736 South 10th Street • Philadelphia, PA 19148 “SUCCESS STARTS HERE” www.neumanngorettihs.org • 215-465-8437 rowhome magazine
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