First Posted: 1/20/2015
YATESVILLE — Wyoming Area High School Principal Vito Quaglia was named the head Pittston Area softball coach at a school board meeting held Tuesday.
Quaglia takes over for Dave Deluca after the Patriots finished the 2014 campaign 6-9, an improvement over the last several seasons.
A Jenkins Township resident, Quaglia has coached the Jenkins Township major girls softball teams for the past several seasons. He led the girls to a Section 5 championship last season and a trip to states with much of the same players on the Pittston Area team this season.
“I wasn’t openly looking to take the job,” said Deluca. “It just opened up and my familiarity with the kids and the program made it a lot easier. I know the kids and what they are capable of.”
The Patriots spent the last several seasons near the bottom of the Wyoming Valley Conference. In 2011, Pittston Area finished 3-12. It combined for just three wins over the next two seasons. Last year, however, the Patriots showed a lot of promise with a very young team.
Pittston Area eclipsed 2013’s win total in its first three games last year. The team found itself sitting on top of the standings and looking to turn the program around.
“Last year was a team where they had their ups and downs,” Quaglia said. “They started off pretty well. I know they had a bunch of younger kids. Those kids will be back with experience.”
While Quaglia is the principal at Wyoming Area, he said that wouldn’t interfere with his drive to coach the Pittston Area team. He did say, however, the April 21 game between the two schools will be interesting.
“I try to be very supportive of our Wyoming Area programs,” he said. “But my day job is my day job. I just want these girls out there competing to keep the program moving in the right direction.”
