Quaker Valley's New Football Coach is a Familiar Face

Quaker Valley’s new head football coach spent Wednesday afternoon under the hot sun at the stadium, holding a practice for  the varsity team as part of a mini-camp.

It didn’t take long for John Tortorea to jump into his coaching role. Tortorea was named the new head coach after spending last season as the Quaker’s assistant coach under Bob McIntyre. McIntyre in April for personal reasons.

Tortorea said he’s thrilled to be a part of the Quaker Valley program.

“It’s an absolute blessing to be working with these young kids. They are great, great, great kids,” he said.

This is his first head coaching job, but Tortorea comes with a background of high school and college coaching experience. A graduate of Thiel College in Greenville, Mercer County, Tortorea served as a coach at his alma mater. He's also coached at Reynolds High School in Mercer County and at Cornell and Carlynton high schools. 

He began coaching at last year and isn’t the only coach returning this season.

Tortorea said two other members of last year’s staff remain on the staff, along with around four new coaches that he has worked or played with in the past.

The three-day mini-camp that began Wednesday and ends today provided Tortorea and the coaching staff an opportunity to get into the groove and put their coaching skills – and the players – into action.

“There’s a lot of excitement,” Tortorea said. “The kids are excited. The coaches are excited. We wish we could play tomorrow. We wish the season was here,” Tortorea said.

There are plenty of weeks between now and the start of the season, and plenty of training will take place between now and then. Mini-camp ends today, but summer conditioning starts June 8, followed by regular football camp, which starts Aug. 5.

“We really don’t take any time off,” Tortorea said. “We go at it pretty much 12 months a year.”

Last season, the team ended with an 1-8 record. While winning isn’t everything, Tortorea said he is confident that this year’s team is different. For one thing, he said, the team includes "a ton" of seniors this year. 

“It’s not even the same team,” he said. 

For 12 years, Tortorea has worked in social services and with at-risk youth. He also has been a foster parent for seven years and has seven children.

“I love working with kids," he said. "It’s my calling in life to mentor young people.”