Reduzzi, Bangor, make a good fit in Slate Belt
Paul Reduzzi coached 17 seasons at Belvidere, Watchung and Hopatcong high schools in New Jersey.
He also coached at his alma mater, Pen Argyl, from 2007-17 and then spent the 2018 season at Liberty High School as the defensive coordinator.
But if you watch Reduzzi on the practice field and walk around the building, you’d think he has always been at Bangor.
The 1985 Pen Argyl graduate has made a seamless transition to Pen Argyl’s rival school in the Slate Belt where he inherits a program that made strides under previous head coach Tom Toth, who is now an assistant for the Slaters.
Toth went 3-4 as interim head coach in 2016 and 11-11 over the past two years. Bangor’s 6-5 mark last year was its first winning season since 2012.
Reduzzi was 66-59 at Pen Argyl and won District 11 championships in 2011 and 2012. His overall record is 141-107.
“We’re off to a real positive start,” Reduzzi said. “We had a good offseason. We were looking at 40 kids every morning and when you get that kind of work, it puts you ahead. I’m happy with their attitudes.”
“I enjoyed just focusing on one side of the ball,” Reduzzi said of his one season at Liberty. “Obviously, that cuts down on your work and I didn’t have to attend all of the meetings I have to attend as a head coach. Being an assistant allowed me to get back to position work and do more one-on-one stuff with the kids than you get to do as a head coach.”
But Reduzzi said there’s something special about being a head coach and leading a staff of guys he respects.
“There are some guys I coached, and some guys I have coached with before,” he said. “We have head coaching experience with Tom [Toth] and Donnie [Hawk] coming back and even Richie [Smith] being a head coach in wrestling is a plus. There are a lot of positives.”
In terms of the personnel, there are a lot of new faces. Bangor returns just two starters on offense — center Colby Constable and receiver Nick DaVanzo — and three on defense — Constable, DaVanzo and linebacker Joe Genteel.
“We want the kids to be good teammates,” Reduzzi said. “Are they committed to their team? Are they committed to their assignments? Are they willing to sacrifice for the guys they’re playing with? I don’t have a lot of rules. If they respect their teammates and they play disciplined football, it will carry into the locker room and into the school.”