Germantown Academy Names new Football Coach

has a new football coach.

Matt Dence, the former head coach at Valley Forge Military Academy, will lead the Patriots in 2012, according to an announcement from the school’s athletic department.

 “We are thrilled that Matt will be joining us as both a football coach and a member of the faculty,” Director of Athletics Jim Fenerty said. “His enthusiasm and sincere interest for the young people of GA was apparent in the interview process. We wanted someone who fit into our teacher-coach model of successful interscholastic athletics, and are excited about his vision for the football program.” 

Dence, who will also teach physical education at the school, said he was “excited about the opportunity” to coach at Germantown Academy.

“Germantown Academy is so special, and to be the person who was chosen for this position means the world to me and I don’t, and won’t, take that lightly,” he said.

Prior to his first high school coaching position at VFMAC, Dence was a staff member on several collegiate football teams on the east coast - Georgetown University (wide receivers coach), Yale University (wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator), Amherst College (linebackers coach and video coordinator) and King’s College (secondary coach).

During his time as a college coach, Dence mentored 15 players who earned All-League or All-America honors during their playing time.

Dence earned his bachelor’s degree in mass communication and media technologies from King's in 1998, where he was three-year starter and four-year varsity letterwinner at tight end. He completed his Master’s of Physical Education with a concentration in sport management from Springfield in 2002. The Philadelphia native is a 1994 graduate of Father Judge High School.

The Patriots went 3-6 in 2011.