Coaches Profiles

Mike Ricci - Head Coach  Coach Ricci has been a Teacher at Garnet Valley High School since 1985.  He has coached the football team since 1986, with the exception of one year, when he coached at Widener University.  During his tenure at Garnet Valley, he has developed the football program into one of the strongest in Eastern Pennsylvania. Twice (2006 and 2007), his teams have won the District 1 AAA championship. In 2007, Garnet Valley won the Eastern Pennsylvania AAA championship and finished second in the state.  Coach Ricci is a 1984 graduate of Susquehanna University, where he played both Football and Baseball.  Ricci has been honored numerous times during his coaching career for his accomplishments, including being named 2007 EasternPAFootball.com Big School Coach of the Year and 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer Southeastern PA Coach of the Year.   Mike lives in the district and is married to Connie and have four children: Jonathan, Matthew, Theresa and Natalie.

Rick Stroup - Defensive Coordinator  Coach Rick Stroup has been with our program for 9 years.  Our defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach, Coach Stroup has a tireless work ethic, an excellent grasp of the game of football and an unbridled passion for putting players in position to be successful.  Our defense is always well prepared, always well drilled and always sound.  Under the guidance of Coach Stroup, we make all of the right adjustments and have been one of the top ranked defenses in Delaware County.  Coach Stroup has been the head coach at Sun Valley and Oxford High School and coached at West Chester University, Swarthmore College and Cheyney University.  Coach Stroup and his wife, Vanessa, have four children:  Jason, John, Kara and Kate.

Rich Boyd - Running Backs / Strength & Conditioning  Coach Rich Boyd is in his 5th year with our football program.  The leader of our outstanding conditioning program, our running backs coach, and our kickoff team and punt return team coach, Coach Boyd is one of the solid pillars of our coaching staff.  Coach Boyd does a great job of breaking down film, and an even better job of communicating to the players he coaches.  He sets high standards for them and then puts them in position where they can be successful.  He is an outstanding teacher, a phenomenal role model and a critical complement to helping Coach Green develop our weekly game plans.

Joe Valerio - Offensive Line  Coach Joe Valerio is in his 3rd year coaching at Garnet Valley.  Teaming with Coach Patt Evans to train our offensive linemen and deep snappers, Coach Valerio brings a wealth of experience to our offensive line.  More importantly, Coach Valerio brings a positive attitude, a tremendous ability to show players how to see the “big picture” and then break down and teach the skills they will need to be successful within it.  He is constantly encouraging, always focused, and a tremendous asset to our staff.  In addition to working with our O-line this year, Coach Valerio also directed our kickoff return and extra point teams.  Coach Valerio and his wife, Jen, have three daughers:  Hailey, Madison, and Taylor.

Patt Evans - Offensive Line  Coach Patt Evans is in his 6th season at GV.  Coach Evans, in addition to working with our offensive linemen, is a great motivator and leader of our scout team.  Like Coach Valerio, Coach Evans has experienced football at all levels.  He understands the role the scout team plays in any good football program—they need to hustle, they need to be focused, they need to be physical, and they need to be fearless.  He knows that if the scout team performs at a high level, then the team will only get better.  But he also understands that not only will the team get better, but so, too, will each of the players on the scout team.  Coach Evans has been instrumental in helping our players search for college fits and in preparing them to be successful once they get there. Coach Evans and his wife, Michelle, have three children:  Jack, Peyton and Bear.

Brian Perlsweig - Linebackers / Technology  Coach Brian Perlsweig is in his 8th year with the Garnet Valley football program.  Our outside linebacker coach and the much needed translator for Coach Stroup, Coach Perlsweig is one of our technology gurus and the tireless maker of our many tapes and DVDs.  He provides each coach with a copy of our opponents’ offense and defense (broken down separately) and uses the computer to analyze the tendencies our opponents utilize.  He hosts the Thursday night defensive dinners, is always available to help any player with schoolwork or whatever else he needs, and does virtually whatever the program needs him to do (from selling sweatshirts to getting the headsets fixed to copying defensive game plans to helping to run the JV team…anything the program needs, Coach Perls is the first to jump in to do it).  Brian is married to Deb.  

Greg Mink - Special Teams / Technology Coach Greg Mink is in his 5th year working with our football program.  Another GV Alum (GVHS class of 1988), Coach Mink orchestrates all of our special teams.  He scouts the other teams that we play, draws up each of their special teams, analyzes them for any weakness that they might have, and then passes it along to the coaches and the players.  In addition, he works very closely with Coach Perslweig to handle our technology needs.  Coach Mink and his wife, Carrie, have three children:  Makenna, Cullen and Meron.

Lance Panarello - Defensive Backs Coach Lance Panarello is in his 12th year (at least) working with our GV football program.  A GVHS class of 1990 graduate, Coach Panarello works with our defensive backs and anything else we need for the program.  Coach Panarello has a great ability to relate the lessons learned through football to the lessons our players will need to be successful with their own lives.  He is a caring, compassionate, straight forward leader, one of the coaches on the staff the players regularly turn to for advice and guidance.  Coach Panarello and his wife, Jaima, have two children, Roman and Wyatt.

Julius Flynn - Defensive Backs   Coach Julius Flynn is in his 4th year coaching at Garnet Valley, but his first year was over 11 years ago.  After leaving GV, he went on to become the head coach at Brandywine High School (where he teaches), but recently regained his senses and returned to his alma mater.  Coach Flynn works with our defensive backs and punters.  A dynamic athlete during his playing days, Coach Flynn has a powerful arm, an unbelievable leg and a soft spoken manner that allows him to be an effective teacher and demonstrator.  Coach Flynn and his wife, Lisa, have two children, Dominique and Skylar.

John Paul Battiste - Strength & Conditioning   Coach John Paul Battiste is in his 3rd year coaching at Garnet Valley.  A special education teacher at the high school and an avid weight lifter, Coach Battiste was invaluable to our team again this year as he monitored and instructed our in-season weight program.  Each Monday – Thursday, Coach Batiste led our players through their various paces in the weight room.  He kept them motivated, he kept them safe and he got them stronger.  His willingness to spend time in our weight room allowed our offensive and defensive coaches to spend pre-practice time with our players, preparing them for the upcoming practice and being able to convey to them any game-plan adjustments that we needed to make.  He also worked with our JV offense and assisted Coach Boyd with our running backs. Like we reported last year, Coach Battiste is unmarried, but he is looking!