Former longtime Monessen girls basketball coach being honored with scholarship
From left, Andrew and Alicia Galis, and Carly and Derek Thompson model the shirts that will be on sale to benefit a scholarship in honor of longtime former Monessen girls basketball coach Major “Tuffy” Corley.
Major “Tuffy” Corley
An option for the front of the T-shirt.
The back of the T-shirt
By John Sacco
The motivation is pure love and admiration for their former coach.
A little more than year ago, Major “Tuffy” Corley – long-time coach of the Monessen High School girls basketball team – passed away unexpectedly.
His loss left a void in the Monessen community and in the lives of many of his former players.
Two of those players, Alicia (Stein) Galis and Carly (Cocciolone) Thompson have taken a leadership role in honoring Corley and ensuring his memory and good will lives on in the Monessen community.
The two have created “The Major ‘Tuffy’ Corley Memorial Scholarship” and are conducting a T-shirt sale. The $15 shirt honors Corley and his successful coaching career and leadership role in the community.
The backs of the T-shirts are emblazoned with Corley’s photo and career record. There are two options for the front of the T-shirts – including a full front or left chest design.
Galis said she will be placing orders until January.
A T-shirt order form and other information can be found at: www.Coachcorleyscholarship.com. The T-shirts can be paid for by check via traditional mail, PayPal @coachcorleyscholar or Venmo @coachcorleyscholar.
The one-year memorial scholarship will be awarded to one senior Monessen girls basketball player.
According to Galis, the vision for the scholarship “is to have the community come together every year to honor our coach and keep his Greyhound spirit alive.”
Galis added the scholarship “will also donate a portion of the fundraising profits to one another community association, which will be chosen yearly.”
Galis said the scholarship has chosen Monessen Midget League Basketball.
“When Tuffy died, I was down in the dumps,” said Galis, the high-scorer in Monessen’s PIAA championship game in 2004. “I reached out to former Lady Greyhounds’ standout Charel (Allen) and we talked about catching up with old teammates on a Zoom call.
“We reminisced and thought it would be nice to honor him in some way,” she added. “We talked about it and decided it would be best to honor him by giving back to the community and to impact a young athlete in a positive way.”
Galis said she is still “heartbroken” over the sudden passing of her former coach.
“The community has remembered him over the past year,” she said. “The re-naming of the basketball court, the memorial golf outing and the memorial scholarship, among many other ways. I know he is smiling down with that memorable grin.”
Thompson said it was important to honor Corley by continuing his longtime commitment to student-athletes, sports and the girls program.
“We just wanted to honor him by trying to do something he would always try to do,” she said. “Tuffy founded the ‘Future Lady Greyhounds’ midget program and he put a lot of time into it. The varsity program benefited from his hard work.”
Galis and Thompson set up a table at the Monessen Athletic Department Delvin Miller, Major Corley and Danny Bergstedt Memorial Golf Outing in June at Chippewa Golf Course in Bentleyville.
“It was a fun day at the memorial golf outing,” Galis said. “It was so great seeing so many familiar faces. “I thank everyone who supported the memorial scholarship with T-shirt purchases. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for the support we have from our Greyhound community.”
Galis said she’s grateful for the personal donations to the scholarship fund and that the committee is considering future fundraisers such as a festival with food trucks and a basketball camp or clinic for youth players.
“When Tuffy died, I lost a little piece of me,” Galis said. “He was such an important figure in my life. I was fortunate to be part of the glory days. It’s important to me to honor his memory and do the work he always did.”