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YATESVILLE — Pittston Area School District will honor the late Jon M. McHale with the dedication of the school’s swimming pool in his name this spring. The pool will be known as the Jon M. McHale Aquatic Center.
McHale was instrumental in starting a swim program, assuming the head swim coach position in 1970 until 1974. During his tenure, his record was an impressive 57-12 for an upstart program.
“Jon was a great guy,” Pittston Area School Board director John Adonizio said. “He reached out to kids, saw their potential and molded them into very good athletes.”
The McHale family is thrilled to hear the news. “I was in Philadelphia visiting my son Shawn when I received word of the dedication,” said McHale’s widow, Cathie.“ He loved coaching swimming. He would always tell me how mentally tough his swimmers were.”
According to Cathie, Jon, almost up to the time of his death, would often talk about his former swimmers and would remember winning times. McHale passed away on May 21, 2012, at the age of 68.
McHale had a knack of seeing athletic ability in students.
“There is one story of when Jon told a student to be at swim practice the next day and the student said, ‘But coach, I don’t know how to swim,’” said Cathie “Jon said, ‘Did you hear me? Be at practice.’”
According to Cathie, that young man ended up being one of Coach McHale’s best swimmers.
“He had an incredible ability to see things in students and point them in the right direction whether it be swimming, football or even boxing,” Adonizio said.
One of McHale’s former swimmers was Charlie Adonizio, John’s cousin.
“I was a member of Coach McHale’s first year team. I wasn’t a star, but I can remember the Healy brothers, Gordie Finn, the Masulis brothers and Joe Hines,” Charlie said. “Jon McHale was an interesting guy; I don’t really know how much he knew about swimming, but I’ll give him credit for taking a rag tag group of kids, most without any previous competitive experience, and molding us into a pretty good team.”
Charlie also mentioned Bob and Mike Dessoye as being successful swimmers for McHale.
“I can remember how the construction of the high school was completed in 1969 but the pool heater wasn’t installed yet for the first swim season,” Charlie said. “The pool water was about 50 degrees and that gave us an advantage over the away teams for meets. Their bodies were in shock because most pool temperatures are closer to 80 degrees.”
While coaching, McHale referred to the boys’ team as “McHale’s Navy,” a reference to a 1960s comedy television show starring Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway.
McHale’s coaching abilities were not just reserved for swimming; he served as an assistant football coach for many years, as well.
Also a former boxing official, McHale taught physical education for 35 years. He was also a past president of the Avoca chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), America’s oldest Irish Catholic Fraternal Organization founded in the coal-mining region of Pennsylvania and New York City.
The dedication will be the third such event at Pittston Area this school year. Last fall, the district dedicated the football field house in honor of longtime legendary football coach, Bob Barbieri. In January, the gym floor was named after former faculty member, coach and pro basketball player Gene Guarilia.
There will be a ceremony to mark the occasion of naming the pool sometime this spring. A definite date will be announced in the near future.
Pittston Area School District officials, along with the Cathie McHale, her son Shawn and daughter-in-law Debbie and grandchildren Liam and Mallory, would like friends, former colleagues and the general public to attend the event.
When asked about all of the dedications this year, John Adonizio said, “All these men were good educators and citizens and left a mark on the kids and district and because of that, they won’t be forgotten.”
For further information on the McHale dedication, contact Dawn Licata at Pittston Area at 570-654-2415, ext. 2102.