Matsook resigns after titles
The coach who led Beaver Falls High School to its first state championship in football in 2016 resigned.
Ryan Matsook, who guided the Tigers to the PIAA Class 3A title, stepped down as coach after 11 seasons. He handed in his letter of resignation this Friday.
“I’m not unhappy, not upset, not mad and nothing happened. It’s just time,” Matsook said.
Matsook’s decision came more than three months after the season ended.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while,” he said. “I thought about before the season, during the season and over Christmas. There just was never a good time to do it. I didn’t want to do it near the end of the season or right after it because it takes away from the kids’ accomplishments. I didn’t want to do it after Christmas. I just waited until now.
“I’m pursuing some other things from an administrative standpoint that I’ve kind of always wanted to do. Plus, my wife had back surgery in February and I’ve been coming home from school pretty much every day since the end of the season and I’m seeing I’m needed at home.”
Matsook, 39, became coach in 2006 and took over a program that had losing records in three of the four previous seasons. Beaver Falls finished 5-4 and did not make the WPIAL playoffs in Matsook’s first season. But the Tigers never missed the postseason again and Matsook finished with a record of 101-26 (.795 winning percentage). Besides winning WPIAL and PIAA titles this season, Beaver Falls also lost in a WPIAL title game two other times under Matsook.
Matsook, who lives in Center Township (part of the Central Valley School District), is the director of the digital program at Beaver Falls High School and also runs the alternative education program. He also has been a teacher and the dean of students in the district.
“I’m not saying I’m retired,” Matsook said. “I just want to take a step back and do some other things.
“I want everything to be a positive with me leaving. I’ve been lucky here. A lot of football people who take over programs have a vision and goal in mind. We tried to do things right every day. For it to culminate in the year we had is just pretty special, especially with the group of seniors we had. It was fantastic, like a dream come true. Thank God, people took pictures because I wouldn’t have believed it.”