Announcement
From The GAZETTE, By Brad Bournival, Staff Writer
YORK TWP. — Chris Medaglia has been Buckeye through and through.
The school's most successful football coach in terms of winning percentage, he's faced with one of the toughest decisions he's ever had to make.
Pending Valley Forge‘s Board approval next week, the 35-year-old will take over as the high school physical education teacher and head football coach in the fall.
It all came down to dollars and sense for Medaglia, who guided the Bucks to a 40-12 record and two playoff appearances in five years.
"It's a chance for me to go home. Parma Heights is where I grew up," said Medaglia, who graduated from Parma Heights Holy Name in 1990. "My parents still live in the city. My brother and two sisters went there. It's two miles from my home and it's over a 20 percent pay increase.
"The decision to go to Forge is based more on a teaching decision than a coaching decision. I've got to listen with my head sometimes. "It's really a no-brainer. Had Buckeye passed a couple of operating levies, I wouldn't have thought about leaving. I just can't take that gamble."
Medaglia's pending decision could leave an incredible hole at what has become a superpower in football. Under his guidance, the Bucks went 10-0 in the regular season in 2005, the first time that has happened at the school since the football program came into existence in 1953. His .792 winning percentage is far and away the best at the school. Only Harold Scrivens comes close with a .680 mark, but he coached Buckeye from 1953-55, going 17-6-2. His 40 career wins are behind only Ken Woodruff (52, 1977-83, 1994), John Murphy (46, 1956-63) and Mike Lewis (44, 1968-76).
"He's taken a program and made it very successful," Buckeye superintendent Craig Bailey said. "He focused the team and hired coaches that supported his coaching philosophy and desire to have a successful program. He put incredible hours into the program and that contributed to his success. "He'll be a difficult person to replace. We wish him luck as he moves up the coaching ladder. We'll struggle to find somebody as successful as him for this district." The struggle was difficult for Medaglia as well. He took over a Buckeye program full of near misses and led them to playoff appearances in 2002, 2003 and 2005 — the only three in school history. An assistant coach beginning in 1995, Medaglia has been a teacher at Buckeye since 1999. He put in a ton of hours following the school levy failure in 2005 to make sure football went off without a hitch.
"This was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make," Medaglia said. "I love it here. I love the kids, I love the parents. I've been sick about it. That's how hard it's been, but I'm a teacher first and a coach second.
"I've given my heart and soul to this program. It's been a tremendous experience. One I've grown near and dear to. This is a decision totally based on my family."
Should he leave for Valley Forge, Medaglia would still have the opportunity to play a Medina County team at least twice a year when Valley Forge becomes part of the Northeast Ohio Conference next season.
He would be taking over a team that went 3-17 with a 1-13 Pioneer Conference record in two years under Joe Taylor. "Chris has been a tremendous asset to the football program and a wonderful coach," Buckeye school board president Gary Horton said. "He's brought them together.
"We certainly appreciated his effort to go through all he has. To help organize the parents and take the kids under his wing. He's gone over and above with the situation he's had."
From THE PLAIN DEALER, Wednesday, December 06, 2006, From staff reports
Medaglia Goes
Who said you can never go home again? Chris Medaglia, a native of Parma Heights, has been hired as the new head football coach at Valley Forge. A graduate of Holy Name, Medaglia spent the past five seasons directing Buckeye's program. His Bucks went 40-9 during the regular seasons, including a 10-0 mark in 2005, and made three playoff appearances. Ohio's Division III coach of the year in 2005, Medaglia succeeds Joe Taylor, who resigned after two seasons as the Patriots' coach.
