HS Softball: Tide head coach Rinaldo announces retirement

Pottsville head coach Chuck Rinaldo, right, talks with his players prior to the District 11 Class 5A quarterfinal against Bangor on May 20 at the CACL Complex. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)

POTTSVILLE — After more than a quarter-century in the Pottsville softball dugout, Chuck Rinaldo has decided it’s time to retire.

The desire to spend more time with his wife and young grandchildren ages 1-8 — babysitting, attending recitals and baseball, basketball and soccer games — will help fill his days.

“It’s time to spend time with family,” the 65-year-old Rinaldo said.

Rinaldo, who taught for 35 years in special education and in the general classroom, joined the Pottsville coaching staff in 1999 as an assistant. He became head coach in 2007 and guided the Crimson Tide for 19 seasons. Pottsville went 230-162 (.587) during his tenure.

“I’m going to miss the kids, just being around the players,” Rinaldo said. “The workouts, starting in the fall, then going through the winter indoor workouts. Just the planning and the challenges that are met. And, of course, teaching the kids the right way how to play the game, the fundamentals, the little things and watching them get better in their skills. That’s what I’m going to miss the most.

“I am saying ‘retired’ because over the last 25 years or so, my experience as an assistant and eventually being the head coach is something I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

Pottsville went 12-10 this season, defeating Bangor 3-2 in eight innings in the District 11 Class 5A quarterfinals. The season ended with a 9-2 loss to Pleasant Valley in the district semifinals. Rinaldo submitted his letter of retirement soon after. Pottsville Area has begun the process of hiring the next head coach.

Asked about his fondest memories, Rinaldo talked about just getting the opportunity to coach at Pottsville High, to be able to coach his own kids (Maria and Regina) when they were in high school and the 2012 team that won the District 11 Class 3A championship.

Pottsville went 23-3 in 2012, falling twice to Pine Grove, once during the regular season and later 7-6 in the Schuylkill League championship game. The Tide rebounded to win the district tournament, defeating Bethlehem Catholic 5-1 in 10 innings in the title game. In the first round of the state playoffs, Pottsville dropped a 1-0 decision to Conwell-Egan Catholic.

Pottsville also finished as District 11 Class 5A runner-up in 2022, won the 2015 Schuylkill League championship with a 5-3 win over Tamaqua and was league runner-up in 2012 and 2014.

“It was a great run,” Rinaldo said.

“I thought long and hard about it, but it’s hard to walk away.”

Rinaldo’s legacy extends to moving the program forward in terms of facilities, better uniforms and much more.

For example, when he took over, the field at 16th Street had no outfield fence and no batting cage for softball. In the beginning, Rinaldo had to ask the baseball coach to use the batting cage at Steidle Field.

“I’m really at ease with that, knowing that I’m leaving the program better than it was,” Rinaldo said. “And I’m not taking anything away from any former coaches. Times have changed. Title IX. My goal coming in … I always wanted to make sure that our kids had what everybody else had. Of course, you need all of those things to get better.”

The crowning achievement in program building for Rinaldo is Pottsville’s new junior high team. The Tide’s feeder system isn’t producing players like it once did, so getting seventh and eighth graders a few years of instruction before they reach the varsity level will pay dividends in the future.

“I was like a kid at Christmas when Dr. Yoder gave the go-ahead. … It was the ultimate goal,” Rinaldo said. “It was a necessity for us to compete with the other teams that had one.

“It was an honor and a pleasure to be able to teach in the Pottsville Area School District,” Rinaldo added. “Thanking the athletic directors, Eric Rismiller, Scott Mattea. Before that, John Carestia was the one that gave me the opportunity to hire me as a coach. And, of course, our administration, our principals, superintendents.”