Schifino leaves Waynesburg, takes Steel Valley job
For Drew Schifino, the decision to leave Waynesburg High School for another boys basketball coaching position was a matter of time.
Schifino was hired Tuesday night at the Steel Valley School Board meeting to be the varsity boys coach.
On the same night, the Central Greene School Board hired John Garber as varsity head coach of the girls basketball team.
“I never pursued the job,” said Schifino. “Some people asked me if I wanted to interview for the position. I always said if I could get a job closer to home, I would be interested.”
By taking the job, Schifino cut his travel time from one hour and 10 minutes to 15 minutes from his home in Penn Hills.
Schifino, 32, took the Waynesburg job 11 months ago and led the Raiders to a 6-16 record, including a 2-10 mark in Section 5-AAA. Schifino said he told athletic director Russ Moore if a coaching position became available closer to his home, he would consider taking it.
“Coach Moore understood,” Schifino said. “He knew how far I had to drive. For me, this is not about the money. It’s about how far I had to drive. This job is closer to home.”
For the second year in a row, Waynesburg is scrambling to find a basketball coach before the season starts. Schifino was hired in October, just one month before practice began.
“I was surprised it happened now,” said Moore. “I knew it was going to happen at some time, because he had a long trip to Waynesburg. We’re back where we were last year, looking for a coach. We’ll post it in the district and the newspaper, and we’ll hire someone before the October meeting.”
The Steel Valley job became available when the school board opened the winter and spring sports coaching positions. Shawn McCallister was the boys basketball coach at Steel Valley and also is the athletic director. Reportedly, all but McCallister was rehired.
What made this situation even more unusual is McCallister sat on the committee that interviewed other candidates for the job. McCallister reportedly reapplied but Schifino got the job.
McCallister also has ties to Waynesburg. He was the point guard on the Waynesburg University basketball team that advanced to the NAIA tournament in Kansas City in the 1987-88 season. The Yellow Jackets made it to the Final Four with such players as Harold Hamlin, Darrin Walls, Rob Montgomery, Vance Walker and Ron Moore.
“I’m familiar with all the WPIAL schools,” Schifino said. “Their top scorer is back, and they should be one of the top teams in the section.”
Steel Valley finished in third place in Section 4-AAA with an 8-4 record, and had a 15-5 overall mark.
Schifino was a standout player at Penn Hills and went on to play at West Virginia for three seasons. He briefly attended Middle Tennessee State before enrolling at California. He played in 11 games for the Vulcans in 2004-05 before being declared ineligible by the NCAA because he had attended a team workout at Middle Tennessee.
He also played for the Pittsburgh Xplosion of the Continental Basketball Association.