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.

Rich Boyd Jr. - Offensive Coordinator  Coach Rich Boyd is in his 7th year with our football program, where he just finished his second year as our offensive coordinator.  One of the solid pillars of our coaching staff, it’s no surprise that he did an outstanding job (we averaged more than 100 yards PER GAME than the next closest team in the county).  A graduate of West Chester East High School, where he was the Chester County League Player of the Year and the Valor Bowl MVP, Coach Boyd then played running back for legendary coach Tubby Raymond at the University of Delaware.  Upon graduation, Coach Boyd coached at both West Chester East and Downingtown East High Schools.  A physical education teacher at the high school, Coach Boyd is married to Beccah; in November, they welcomed Tessa to their family.

Coach Jeff Allison completed his first season as our defensive coordinator, bringing an attacking, simple yet multiple, well thought out, effective scheme with him.  A Social Studies teacher at Interboro HS, Coach Allison graduated from Widener University in 1995, where he played defensive back and served for two years as their captain.  Also an outstanding player under Jerry Kennedy at Interboro, Coach Allison returned to his alma mater to coach in 1998.  There, while working with head coach Steve Lennox, Coach Allison was instrumental in helping the Bucs win 125 games in 13 years.  Jeff and his wife, Connie, have 3 children, Lindsay, Maggie and Brody.

Joe Valerio - Offensive Line  Coach Joe Valerio is in his 5th year coaching at GV.  Teaming with Coaches Patt Evans and Chris Coyne to train our offensive linemen and deep snappers, Coach Valerio also directed our kickoff return and extra point teams.  A graduate of Ridley High School, where he was co-captain and both 1^st Team All Delco and 1^st Team All District, Coach Valerio then moved to the University of Pennsylvania where he was again a co-captain, a two-time All Ivy 1^st Team member, a 1^st Team All-American and a starter in the East/West Shrine Game.  He was then a 2^nd round draft choice of the Kansas City Chiefs, where he played for 6 years.  As an NFL player, Coach Valerio set an NFL record for most touchdown receptions by an offensive lineman (4—3 from Joe Montana) and was named as a nominee for the prestigious 1995 NFL Man of the Year Award. He is also a member of the Delaware County Hall of Fame.  Coach Valerio, currently employed as a Managing Director with Wells Fargo, and his wife, Jen, have three daughters:  Haley, Madison, and Taylor.

Patt Evans - Offensive Line  Coach Patt Evans is in his 8^th season at GV.  Coach Evans, in addition to working with our offensive linemen, is a great motivator and leader of our scout team.  A 1987 graduate of Strath Haven University and from the University of Minnesota in 1991, Patt’s career has been filled with highlights.  A 3-time All Delco and a Street and Smith’s “player to watch”, Coach Evans accepted a full scholarship to Minnesota, where he became the All Big 10 TE.  Following college, Coach Evans played with the Dallas Cowboys, the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints. Coach Evans and his wife, Michelle, have three children:  Jack, Peyton and Bear.

Greg Mink - Special Teams / Technology     Coach Greg Mink is in his 7^th year working with our football program.  Another GV Alum (GVHS class of 1988), Coach Mink orchestrates all of our special teams and coordinates our technology.  A 1992 graduate of Shippensburg University, where he excelled as a kicker, Coach Mink brings experience and expertise to our kicking game. Coach Mink and his wife, Carrie, have three children:  Makenna, Cullen and Meron.

Lance Panarello - Defensive Backs  Coach Lance Panarello is in his 14^th 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.  A recipient of the Coaches’ Award during his junior year (his “most proud achievement”), Coach Panarello operates Dental Health Care Associates, the first “green” office in Delaware County. Coach Panarello and his wife, Jaima, have two children, Roman and Wyatt.

Julius Flynn - Defensive Backs   Coach Julius Flynn is in his 6^th year coaching at GV, but his first year was over 10 years ago.  After leaving GV, he went on to become the head coach at Brandywine High School, but finally regained his senses and returned to his alma mater (GV Class of 1986).  Coach Flynn works with our defensive backs and punters.  A member of Cheyney University’s Hall of Fame, Coach Flynn was their Athlete of the Year in 1989, when he was also an All American nominee.  While there, he was the 1^st player in school history to achieve 1^st Team All PSAC 4 years in a row.  He also garnered a variety of East Coast Athletic Conference Awards.  Coach Flynn and his wife, Lisa, have two children, Dominique and Skylar.

John Paul Battiste - Strength & Conditioning   Coach John Paul Battiste is in his 5th 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 developed, monitored, instructed and then evaluated and improved our weight program (the Philadelphia Eagles strength coach called it a “phenomenal program”).  Coach Battiste does not say much, but when he does, he has the attention of everyone.  He is a very highly respected member of our staff, a coach who pours his heart and soul into everything he does.  His “I Am A Champion” (which he reprised before the Ridley game this year) is the most talked about pre-game speech in my 28-year Garnet Valley Football career. 

Mark Panapinto - Running Backs  Coach Mark Panepinto, our running backs coach and a history teacher at GV, graduated from Boyertown High School (2003) and Moravian College (2007).  A co-captain at both schools, Coach Panepinto was the Most Valuable player of the PAC 10 in high school and the Outstanding Scholar/Athlete at Moravian.  After graduating from Moravian, Coach Panepinto spent a year coaching their running backs, before moving to Garnet Valley, where he served as the offensive coordinator for the freshman team for 2 years.

Chris Coyne - Defensive Line  Coach Chris Coyne, a 2^nd year member with our program, and one of our o-line coaches, is one of the all-time great linemen in University of Delaware History (2-time All Yankee Conference Center, 1^st team, ECAC Division 1AA All East Center, Honorable Mention All-American, Pre-Season All-American, 1^st Team).  The team’s captain during his senior year and a participant in the prestigious Blue-Gray Senior All Star Football Classic, Coach Coyne played one year with the Indianapolis Colts and one year with the Toronto Argonauts.  Coach Coyne and his wife, Kathie, are the proud parents of Christopher.

Dave Wrezesniewski - Linebackers   Coach Dave Wrzeniewski completed his 2^nd year on our staff this year.  A 1990 graduate of Strath Haven High School, Coach Wrez excelled at linebacker (2^nd Team All Central) before taking his game to Duquesne University (’95).  There, after two years of playing inside linebacker, an injury ended his playing career.  A volunteer at BYC for the past several years, Coach Wrez (along with Coach Evans and Coach Coyne) works tirelessly to improve the program there. Currently the Regional Pharmacy Manager for Giant Pharmacy, Coach Wrez worked with our defensive linemen. Dave and his wife, Polly, have 2 children, Grace and Will.

Chuck Brooks - Linebackers   Coach Chuck Brooks , a 2^nd-year member of our coaching staff, worked with our linebackers.  A long-time BYC coach, Chuck served as the Football Commissioner during the 06-07 seasons, when BYC Football won the prestigious Bert Bell Sportsmanship Award.  A 1984 graduate of Chichester High School, Coach Brooks excelled at linebacker, where he was named 2^nd Team All District, 2^nd Team All Delco, 1^st Team All Del Val and the Delaware County Coaches Association Defensive Player of the Year for Chichester.  He continued his playing career at the University of Delaware, where he also played ILB.  Coach Brooks and his wife, Kelly, have two children, Erin and Chris.

Rich Boyd Sr. - Receivers   Coach Rich Boyd, Sr., finished his 2nd year as a member of our coaching staff.  Working with our fullbacks and serving as an assistant to his son, Rich, Coach Boyd, Sr. was a fantastic addition to our program.  A Haverford High School and West Chester University graduate, Coach Boyd, Sr. earned several honors, including being named a 1^st Team All Conference Strong Safety while at WCU.  In 2002, he was enshrined in the Haverford High School Hall of Fame.  He has coached for the LAFA in West Chester, for Haverford’s middle school and freshman programs,  at Haverford High School (Head Coach in 1985 and the offensive coordinator from 1994 - 1996) and at Villanova University from 1988 – 1992.   Coach Boyd retired from his teaching career at Haverford in 2000 and is married to Janet.  They have 3 boys, Rich Jr., Tom and Jim—and one beautiful granddaughter, Tessa.

Coach Paul Graham joined our staff last winter after having served as the successful head coach at Penncrest High School.  A 2-time All Central and All Delco player at Upper Darby, Coach Graham furthered his football career at Ursinus, where he was a 2-time captain and 2-time All Conference defensive lineman.  A math teacher and 10 year veteran at Penncrest, Coach Graham’s most impressive feat may have been coercing 1994 GV graduate Sarah Dotts to marry him.  Paul and Sarah have two sons, Paul and Kevin.

Coach Mark Foltz, another GV graduate (89), is back for his second stint on the GV staff ( the first was 93-94).  A versatile, intelligent, selfless player for the Jags, Coach Foltz, who works with our receivers, brought an expertise and tremendous amount of football coaching experience upon his return trip to GV.  A Shippensburg grad, where he played football and lacrosse, Coach Foltz teaches English at Interboro HS. At Interboro, he served as Coach Lennox’s right hand man, helping to mold one of the best offenses in the state.  Mark and his wife Sue, a GV English teacher, have two sons, Markus and Thomas.

Coach Craig Stephenson joined GV in 2011, teaming with Coach Brooks instructing the linebackers. After graduating from Dickinson HS (DE), he entered the US Army  and served as a helicopter pilot with the 1^st Cavalry in Vietnam. Upon his return home, he joined the Wesley Jr. College football team where he was selected as a Junior College All American Linebacker in 1972. In 2009, he was honored by being inducted into the Wesley College Hall of Fame.  Following Wesley, he accepted a scholarship at Duke University and finished his football career in the 1974 Blue-Gray All-Star game. Accepting his diploma from West Chester University, Coach Stephenson became an assistant coach for the Dickinson HS  Football team until becoming the head coach in 1993. Coach Stephenson and his wife Sue are proud parents of Leslie.

Coach Jeff Zebley is also a first year member of our staff.  A 3-time All Conference player in both football and baseball at Wilmington Friends High School, Coach Zeb was the starting tight end on a team that won Delaware’s Division 2 State Championship.  He also led the team in interceptions and participated in the Blue Gold baseball game.  A graduate of the University of Delaware, where he played golf, Coach Zeb, who worked with our DB’s, is the proud father of Avon Grove Middle Schooler, Jake.