2011 STOGA COACHES

1st Row: Matt Diamond, Chris Gicking, Gary Phillips, Matt DeStefano, Alex Fad, Josh Crooks, 2nd Row: Zach Young, Tom Batgos, John Vogan, Harry Gicking, Dante Coles

JOHN VOGAN:
Coach Vogan, entering his tenth year as head coach, is a Conestoga graduate. John has 28 years of coaching experience both in the TIE School District and at the college level, most recently at Ursinus College and Delaware Valley College. Currently working at Conestoga High School in the Security Division, John is also the head coach of Conestoga Boys' Varsity Baseball "2011 State Champions". Coach Vogan is a bachelor living in Montclare. In addition to his head coaching duties, Coach Vogan also serves as the Offensive Coordinator.

HARRY GICKING:
Harry, the Defensive Coordinator, has a long history coaching football in this area. Harry coached at Conestoga from 1977 to 1988, serving as head coach for the last six of those years. Harry also coached outside linebackers at Widener from 1989 to 1992 and inside linebackers at Delaware Valley College in 1993. Harry was a standout running back and team captain at Juniata College, graduating in 1970. He taught in TE for 35 years and served as the department chairperson for the Social Studies department. He has recently retired from the classroom. Harry will also be working with the running backs, linebackers and the punt return team.

CHRIS GICKING:
Chris enters his eleventh year as a fulltime assistant at Conestoga. Chris is a 1996 graduate of Marple-Newtown High School, where he was a three-year all-league player. He was also selected to the All State 3rd team and was named Delaware County's leading passer in his senior year. A 2001 graduate of Shippensburg University, Chris was again a 3-year all-league player and was named Conference player of the year and an All-American in 1999. He quarterbacked for the Augusta Stallions in the Arena II Football League in 2001. Chris will be working with the quarterbacks, wide receivers and defensive backs and will call the offensive plays. Chris and his wife Donna live in Broomall with their daughter Olivia and newborn son Christopher.

GARY PHILLIPS:
Gary joins our staff with 22 years of high school coaching experience. He was the head coach of Great Valley High School for the past 17 years. He currently teaches Physical Education at Great Valley HS. Gary played quarterback at Nanticoke Area High School and attended Penn State University where he was a member of the baseball team. He and his wife, Sandy, have two children, Timmy age 13 and Josh age 11. Gary will be working with the offensive line, the outside linebackers and the extra point/field goal teams.

DANTE COLES:
Dante enters his sixth season on the coaching staff and is a 1997 graduate of Conestoga High School. He quarterbacked the 1996 team to the Central League title. After graduation he attended Valley Forge Military Academy before attending Temple University. While at Temple, Dante played both wide receiver and cornerback. After college he played Arena Football for both the Richmond Speed and the Wilkes- Barre Pioneers. Dante lives in Wayne and enjoys every moment with his daughter Kennedy Lynn .Dante works full time at Conestoga. He will coach defensive backs and wide receivers. He has recently retired from playing with the Conshohocken Steelers.

TOM BATGOS:
Returning for his fifth year, Tom continues his longtime involvement with Pioneer football. Tom graduated from Conestoga in 1975 where he won the Old Timers Award in his senior season and has been inducted into the Conestoga Hall Of Fame. Following Conestoga, Tom played for the Villanova Wildcats. Tom lives in Berwyn with his wife Marianne and son Jim, who is enrolled at the Johns Hopkins University. Tom will coach the defensive line and serves as the team's unofficial strength coach.

ZACH YOUNG:
Zach returns to the Conestoga football program to help coach running backs and defensive backs. Zach was a co-captain of the 2005 Pioneer football team and started as a free safety and wide receiver on the Pioneers back-to-back league championship teams in 2004-2005. Zach currently works in clinical operations at ICON Research.

MATT DESTEFANO:
Matt returns for a second year to help coach the defensive backs and wide receivers. He graduated from Conestoga in 2006 and played cornerback and wide receiver for the 2004-2005 Central League Champion teams. Matt then went to Dickinson College where he graduated with honors in biochemistry and Molecular biology in 2010. He played four years at cornerback for Dickinson where he led the Centennial Conference in pass breakups from 2008-2009. His brother Andrew is a junior cornerback and wideout on the current squad.

SONNY DIMARTINI:
A bona fide member of the coaching staff, Sonny is the heart and soul of the Conestoga Pioneers. Sonny's unwavering support and passion for this team has been a trademark around Teamer Field for as long as anyone can remember. What he might lack in size, he more than makes up for in enthusiasm. Sonny is always the last coach to address the team before they take the field and the last one to speak before the team breaks after a game.

Freshmen Coaches

MATT DIAMOND:
Matt returns for his third year as the freshmen team's head coach.. Matt is a 1998 graduate of Conestoga serving as team captain and earning All Area honors as a defensive back. He graduated from Gettysburg College where he was a 4 year starter and received All-League recognition. After graduation he coached defensive backs and wide receivers at Bigglerville High School outside Gettysburg. Matt now teaches 3rd grade at Valley Forge Elementary School and found that he couldn't stay away from the Pioneers. Matt has also been an assistant coach on the varsity team since 2005. Matt and his wife Krissv have a 4 yr old son, A.J., a 3 yr old daughter, Abby and a newborn daughter Katelyn.

JOSH CROOKS:
Josh returns to the Pioneer football program as the freshman offensive and defensive line coach. Josh was the starting left guard on Conestoga's back-to-back Central League Championship teams in 2004 and 2005. Josh graduated from Conestoga in 2006 and is currently enrolled at West Chester University as a biology major and resides in West Chester.

ALEX FAD:
This season Alex returns to his second season as a freshman coach at Conestoga. Alex was on the back-to-back 2004 and 2005 Central League Championship teams where he played center and linebacker. He currently resides in West Chester where he is studying Health and Physical Education and coaching at the University. Alex will be student teaching in the West Chester School district this year. His name may be familiar as his mother is a well renowned lunch staff member and his father works on the school maintenance crew.