Coach Panepinto is stepping down as the defensive coordinator for the Garnet Valley Jaguars high school football team. He has been with the program for 17 years and was hired as the defensive coordinator in 2022.
In the past season, he led the defense to an average of 17.5 points allowed per game. Coach Panepinto has had an incredible career at Garnet Valley, and many hate to see him leave. He helped shape the physical defense for which Garnet Valley is feared. His legacy will forever live on through players, coaches, and the community.
I look forward to asking Coach Panepinto about his favorite memories and some of the best lessons that he took away from his time in the Garnet Valley football program.
Q: What led you to the decision that this was the right time to step away from the football program?
A: I have two kids who are five and three years old, and in the fall, as you know, from playing football, it's a huge time commitment, and really, football is a year-round schedule, like a lot of sports have become year-round. I teach economics, a lot of it is about the trade-offs and opportunity costs, and I felt I wasn't able to spend as much time with my family as I would have liked. One, just our practices and everything, every day. Fridays, I'm out in the morning at 6:30, in the morning when I leave, and then I don't get home until like 11 o'clock at night, which I love. I mean, it was a blast. But then, and even on the weekends, I'm breaking down film, so I'm not as present as I would like to be on the weekends as well. So that's where I hope to be back at some point. But right now, while my girls are young, I felt I was starting to feel aware that I'd rather have more time with them and that cost. Also, what made it easier too, but then knowing like the staff we had that I could leave the program and step away, and we wouldn't miss a beat, in my opinion, with Coach Quintans and Coach Liggett and a lot of the other coaches on staff. I knew we had great support; if I was going to be leaving the team or Coach Van Wyk high and dry, I wouldn't have. But knowing that we have such a great resource, I felt I could step away, take a step back, and we really wouldn't miss a beat.
Q: How do you see your relationship with Garnet Valley football continuing in the future, and is there any chance you will come back?
A: Yeah, I hope to eventually. I definitely would like to. And to be honest, I've already talked to Coach Van Wyk, where I'm not I don't see myself as like completely out of the program. I'm going to be more of an advisor or a consultant, where I'll be around. I just won't be there for the day-to-day stuff just because I can't make that commitment, but I plan to still pop in, talk to the coaches, and have an idea. I'm still going to have a Huddle account, so I'll still be watching the games from the coach's view. I know Coach Quintans, and I have a great relationship while we will still be contacting. It's his defense now, and he can do whatever he wants with it, but if he wants to talk or go over anything, I'm more than willing to. Similar to how Coach Hill was like that this year. Coach Hill would still watch film. I would talk to Coach Hill. So similar to that. But I do probably once my girls get older, depending if they're playing sports, I might coach them. But once they're kind of done with sports, or if they don't play sports, which they don't have to, I might get back. And to be honest, one thing I've even thought about is potentially doing middle school or freshman sooner rather than later. Like, maybe take a year, one year away. And then if one of those positions would open up, because the time commitment there isn't nearly as much work, but I could still be a part of the program, still try to instill the values, and do that. So I do plan on being back or being a part of the program and then being actual actively coaching sometime soon. But yes, I'd definitely like to be back on the varsity sideline, but realistically, probably not anytime soon.
Q: Looking back on your 17 years at Garnet Valley, is there a team that still stays with you, and what about that group made them unforgettable?
A: I mean, there are actually several teams. One of the cool things is that every year, every team has its own personality. So really, every team kind of leads based on those seniors and leaves a lasting mark. So almost every team in one way is memorable, which is really cool. But there are several teams. It's tough to just say one, but there are several teams that are mainly...something that you've probably heard, from Coach Van Wyk, “The teams that really form the closest bonds are the ones that stand out the most”. So I would say I'll probably highlight, I guess, four teams that stood out, rather than just one. And then I can highlight one that is probably the most memorable for me. But the 2012, it would have been the 2013 graduate class, but 2012, because they were the first group I had coached all the way through. I came in, my first year here, and I was the freshman coach. I was the freshman offensive coordinator. And they were all freshmen. And then… I did freshman for two years, then moved up to the varsity staff. So I got to coach them for their junior and senior season. So that group, because I was with them for almost all four years and seeing them through, and they were a really tight-knit group. And then the next year's [2013] group was really strong as well. We had 47 seniors, which is incredible. We have a lot of seniors. We generally have about 30. So 47 was inaccurate, just how closely-knit and tight-knit they were. and just [those types of] teams that are often fun to be around. And then more recently, the 2021 team, our first district championship team, just because that team was just loaded, that was probably the most talented team. We had Max Busenkill on there. We had all the guys at the Naval Academy, Shane Reynolds, Sean Gallagher, other guys, Joey Haller, just an incredibly talented, but also fun group to coach. So that group, just because that was, we'd been working and gotten close to a district title, but had never gotten over the mountain. And then the next season, probably the most memorable for me, is the next year [2022] because we repeated as district champs when nobody expected us to. That was my first year as the defensive coordinator. And we had a great, another great group of guys that just, we had an awesome defense that year. And it was just that, you know, getting to coach them and being the actual leader of the defense, that group will always stand out for sure.
Q: After such a successful career at Garnet Valley, what moment stands out as the one you’re most proud of, and why?
A: So I think actually it's a smaller one, but there are so many moments, just building the connections and relationships. But I think one, I used to be the JV coach. And at JV, you know, you get to coach everybody, and it's a lot of fun. And you get to know a lot of the guys better because you're there, and everybody plays in the JV games. You're constantly rotating. And I remember we had a kid at [cornerback] who we always had a lot of corners, always, and it's always tough to get him reps. So I asked him if he wanted to move to safety. And I coached the safety. I said, if you want to move to safety and play there, we have fewer safeties. You can play a little more. And he did. His name was Dave Wood. His dad's actually the head coach of Ridley. And his younger brother was CJ, who ended up being one of our best safeties. And I remember he came to me after the game and was like, Hey, could I stay there? I really like safety. I think I fit better there. And I was like, yeah, totally. We should have started him sooner, that’s on me I should have got him, but when we moved him to the starting safety it was until his senior year our defense kind of took another level so kind of watching him progress and develop and just being one willing to switch positions and then he ended up being a great safety for us and that was I think the first year we went to the district championship and he was a big part of the reason why that's just kind of seeing that progress that one personal but it's so many that's just one small example but that one pops to mind specifically.
Q: Out of all the rare losses Garnet Valley experienced under your leadership, which one affected you the most, and how did it shape you as a coach?
A: Probably our first district champ, no, second district championship loss. So, since I had been here, we had really good teams. We had the playoffs every year except for one, I think, and we generally won, but we hadn't quite gotten to the championship. And then we got there, and we lost to North Penn the first time. And then the next season, we had the “Miracle at the Moe,” where we came back, and then we made it all the way to the championship. And with Coatesville, Coatesville was absolutely loaded. They had multiple guys go in Division I. The Young brothers, who both would go in Division I, their dad played in the NFL. And so no one gave us a shot. We were this small school that ran an old offense or whatever. And it ended up being one of the best games I've ever been a part of, back and forth. I think it was tied late in the game, and we were driving down and had a chance to win, and we threw a pick-six. So we threw a pick-six with under a minute left. And it was just because a guy, this gets into attention to detail, a guy ran the route wrong and hit. he turned one of the Young brothers eyes in instead of turning his eyes outside he saw the ball because he wasn't supposed to be there picked it off and then just went to the house so that was one that was just we were so close to pulling off just what would have been an incredible upset but it was a great game and it was one of those things that that really built that hunger that i think why we then went on a run the next couple years is because so many of the players and coaches had that hunger that eventually in 2021 they finally got over the hump but it was really cool just that that was kind of, I think a crushing defeat, but it really was just an amazing football game as well.
Q: Throughout your coaching career, were there players who left a lasting impact on you, and what about them made them so memorable?
A: Yeah, I mean, so many players have, but largely it's the guys who really commit and just are the true glue guys to a team. You have certain players who are always remembered. just because they were star players. But it's oftentimes the guys that just, one, just love football, and that bring an infectious personality. So a couple of guys in that vein were Tim Bradley, who was one of the Bradleys, a bunch of Bradleys. He was the second oldest. But he just had, he wore his emotions on his sleeve, was fun to be around, brought a lot of energy. Then another kid was Dominic Labriciosa, he ended up being a captain, but he was a guy who, I'd put him similar for you guys to like a Joey DiMarino, where he wasn't the most physically gifted guy, but he worked his tail off, was a great leader, and ended up, like when they would do summer lifting, every day he invited guys back to his house, everybody, anybody who was there to hang out at the pool. So they would go, they would play, you know, Baggo or Can Jam, whatever, and then just hang out at his house. It was just very, he was a great just connector and the guy I always remember for that, just playing that role. And then another one is Sean Gallagher. He was one of our [players] in 2021; he was like our star receiver, but he was almost like a puppy dog. He was always happy, just running around, and was just a fun kid to be around. He was a great player. He played safety as well, so I coached him. He was just a great kid, just had that fun mentality.
Q: Looking back, what’s the one lesson you most wanted your players to learn about life, not just football?
A: If you use our pyramid and our principles, it can guide you to a good life. It doesn't, you don't need to be the most talented person, but if you, refuse to be the victim, be positive and try to control what you control that can lead you to having a good life and it doesn't you don't need to have all the talent, you don't need to have all like the material success it's more just about living with character living with integrity and living a good life and that that's kind of thing is that hopefully a lot of our players understand that I know not everyone does in the moment but with time, some do immediately which is great but some guys with time come to that realization that that's really the the formula that so a lot of times it takes 10 years 20 years to see if a kid really has been successful because it takes some time to see are they living the one like that like to the to the values of the program.
Q: Garnet Valley has seen some incredible, close contests—what’s the one game that left the biggest impression on you, and what made it special?
A: So yeah, so I'll probably do on the flip side, because we talked about the loss. The biggest win was probably the “Miracle at the Moe”, which was the same season that we had a sophomore quarterback. He was our third-string quarterback. Nobody expected him to start. He would go on to be a good quarterback for us, Ryan Gallagher, but no one expected him to start. Our other two guys got injured. And we're in the playoffs, we won the first round, and we're in the second round. We're playing North Penn, who's a traditional power. I think they actually just won the district again this year [Lost to La Salle in semi-finals], but they're more of a traditional power. They got up at halftime, I think they were up [28-7]. It was just like, all right, this, you know. Then we ended up just defensively, controlling what we needed to do in the second half, and made the adjustments. And then special teams got a couple of big takeaways, and we ended up winning the game [36-35], where we went for two at the very end of the game. And Ryan Gallagher kept the ball as an option. He actually kept the ball. Coach Boyd wanted him to pitch it, but he saw an opening, just kept it, and dove in for a two-point play to give us the win. So just an incredible comeback, and just completely unexpected for everybody, and shocking the traditional power that was the one that I’ll always remember.
Q: Building on that game, how did you manage the pressure in the moment, and what helped you stay focused?
A: I think it's just you focus on the moment-to-moment, rather, and that's where all the training comes in. It's funny, with Indiana and all the success, Coach Cignetti is getting a lot of attention. One of his things is that every play is the most important play. And so it's just kind of focusing on what do we need to do this? Like, what is my role for this next play? And like, at the time, I was the guy up top in the box. So like Coach [Quintans] had done the last couple of years, where my job was to tell our defensive coordinator, all right, what's their personnel? What's their format? Is our coverage right? Do we need to check our coverage? And just keep doing that. That's kind of why football is amazing, because no one player can dominate it. It's the ultimate team game, and it's you just need everybody to focus on their job, not trying to do too much, not getting caught up, not losing focus for one reason or another, and just staying locked in. And when everyone does that, you can do great things like that.
Q: Looking back, which part of the season will you feel the biggest gap without: the daily grind of practice or the thrill of gameday, and what makes that experience special?
A: So I think the biggest gap is going is just that every day not having practice and I think the weekly goal that most people kind of go through and it's just like alright every day is relatively the same you just get up you do your thing whereas when you're in season you have a goal especially football where it's like you have one game a week you're building towards that and then you either pass or you don't you either win or you don't win and then it's kind of that process. I'm sure the first Friday that we have a game when Nazareth is coming to town next year. It's going to feel empty for me, where it's not like I'll still be talking to coaches, so I'll have an idea. I'll know the guys on the team, but it's not going to be that active role of having control, having a role in the game. So that's going to be the biggest thing. And I think that is kind of where each week, you know, it's a new test, a new task, and just that focus on process and accountability and getting results, that a lot of times you go through and you never really know how I'm doing. When you play sports, especially football, you know every week, are we doing well or are we not doing well? We have stuff to analyze. I love that part of the process.
Q: Looking back on your years at Garnet Valley, what do you think was the most important lesson you learned, both as a coach and as a person?
A: I think the biggest thing is “control what you can control,” and that's something that I know my parents instilled that, my mom especially gave me that mentality of just control what you can control, you know, and that's one of the core foundational principles. It's actually a tenet of the philosophy of stoicism, which our program actually pulls a lot from, and it's this idea that there are always other things going on in the world or other people's opinions and reactions. You recognize it, you acknowledge it, but it's just focusing on what I can do. We often control a lot more than we realize at first, when you really think about what I can control. So that's the biggest thing for life and just for coaching and for anything, is looking at what I can control and focus on that because that's where I have control.
Q: Many players have told me you’re probably the smartest coach they’ve ever had, almost like you can anticipate what the offense is going to do. What advice would you give to new coaches about preparing for gameday and leading a defense the way you did?
A: No offense to those players. I think they say that because they haven't been around enough coaches yet. They get around more coaches, they'll find coaches smarter than me. But I do appreciate that. It's a very nice thing for all those guys to have said. But what that is comes from preparation. People who come off as confident or smart or whatever, it's often because they've done the homework. They know that they know this stuff, so then they feel confident actually talking about it and not just trying to get by or just saying something that I hope I sound smart, they're confident. So when it came to a game, I had done the homework, I had watched all the plays, I had put in the data, I looked at their tendencies, so I often had the idea because I'd seen this already or I know what that coach, especially a lot of the teams we face every year, if the coaching staff hasn't changed, you start to get a feel for this coach that can do this in this scenario, so you start to get a feel for those things. Which is a part of the fun of the game, and then they break tendencies, and then it’s like, alright, I mean, they caught us on that. That's the fun. That's the cat and mouse or the chess match that makes football fun. For the coaches or the players, it's just doing the work. If you do that work leading up to it, and it's something that I actually learned in college, that even with school, in high school, I wouldn't do the readings. I wouldn't do that because I didn't need to. I could get an A in class without doing a lot, like a lot of high school kids, because, you know, the classes aren't too, too difficult. Then in college, I actually bombed my first history test, and I was like, what the heck's going on? And what I realized was that half the test was on the notes in class, and the other half of the test was from the readings that the teacher just expected you to do. So I was like, all right, I had to wake up. I was like, I have to actually do the readings. Once I started doing that and made that part of my process, it was like, all right, I understand this a lot better. I now, when class comes, and they ask a question, I actually know what I'm talking about. It gave me that confidence, and the same thing holds true in football. If you actually watch the film, if you actually study the playbook, it makes you more confident, and then if you ask a question, it's generally a really good question because it might be something the coach hadn't considered or the coach didn't see from a player's perspective. So it's really that, it's just doing the work, doing the homework, and then that allows you to feel prepared and lets you then be ready for whatever it throws at you, life or the game.
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