Ringgold opens Pergola’s coaching job
Observer-Reporter
Phil Pergola has won more than 600 games and one state championship in 50 seasons as a boys basketball head coach.
Observer-Reporter
Head coach Phil Pergola has been at the center of Ringgold basketball for two stints, covering 25 years.
Phil Pergola, the only coach to guide a boys basketball team from Washington County to a PIAA championship in the state’s largest classification, might have coached the final game in his illustrious 55-year career.
The Ringgold School Board last week chose not to renew the contracts of Pergola and Todd Miller, the Rams’ wrestling head coach for the past four seasons. Lindsy Muchnock recently resigned as Ringgold’s girls basketball coach to take a job in Maryland. That leaves the Rams with three vacant winter sports head coaching positions.
Pergola’s contract expired last night.
“At the most recent school board meeting, it was decided to open all winter sports coaching positions and to extend the contracts of all spring coaches for one year,” Ringgold athletic director Laura Grimm explained. “We felt, given the predicament we’re in, it wasn’t fair to allow the spring coaches’ contracts to expire because they didn’t have a season to coach.
“The winter positions, it was decided to let all of them expire. It wasn’t anything specific to Phil. We just thought it would be the most prudent way to go.”
Grimm said Pergola can reapply for the job.
“Yes, he can. It wasn’t a matter of him not achieving standards or goals,” she said. “This is not a personal attack at Phil. It’s just the direction we decided to go in with the winter coaching jobs.”
Grimm did point out that the Rams’ swimming and diving coaching position was not opened and called it a “unique situation.”
Pergola has spent 55 years in coaching, including 50 as a head coach at Ringgold, California, Charleroi and Mon Valley Catholic. He was the athletic director at California and MVC. Pergola has had two stints as Ringgold’s head coach, the first lasting 18 years. He returned to Ringgold for the 2013-14 season.
In Pergola’s first stay at Ringgold he guided the Rams to the PIAA Class 4A finals in 1990, losing to a tall and talented Glen Mills team in overtime. In 1995, Pergola and Ringgold were back in the championship game and defeated Williamsport, 71-66.
Pergola is one of only three boys basketball coaches – Ed Hepe and Ron Faust are the others – to win a state championship with a team from Washington County.
This past season, Ringgold went 14-11 and qualified for the state tournament as the fifth-place finisher in the WPIAL. The Rams lost 59-56 to Lancaster Catholic in the first round. It was the second consecutive year the Rams won 14 games and advanced to the PIAA playoffs.
“The last two years were the two best Phil had during my time at Ringgold,” Grimm said. “They put the work in as coaches and had a good group of seniors who came of age.”
The 74-year-old Pergola, who has more than 600 career victories, was stunned to learn his job was opened but knew it was a possibility.
“The last I heard, which was back in May, they were considering opening all (winter coaching) jobs. Last Wednesday, they opened mine,” Pergola said. “Nobody even called to tell me that they opened it.”
Pergola said he hasn’t decided if he will reapply.
“I can’t give you a reason that somebody would want to open my job,” Pergola said. “I’ve never been called in and told that I’m doing something wrong or doing something somebody might not like.”
Pergola said he is concerned about how this will impact the returning Ringgold players. They were to begin offseason workouts July 6, under PIAA-mandated health guidelines.
“I think Phil does a good job,” Grimm said. “Phil is an old-school guy who has been coaching forever. He has a unique perspective in that he was an athletic director … and is one of the easiest coaches to work with.”