Four added to Coaches Honor Roll
With an eye toward those who serve the community – through long hours and for no pay – the Montgomery County Coaches Hall of Fame once again announces its Community Coaches Honor Roll.
Four honorees, from four corners of Montgomery County, will be in the spotlight at the 17th annual induction banquet on Tuesday, November 20 at Presidential Caterers in East Norriton.
The newest class of honorees are Elise Baker of Blue Bell, Ken Constable of North Wales, Ed Molnar of Harleysville and Marc Siefer of Springfield.
They will join the newest class of Hall of Fame inductees: Dick Beck, who has built North Penn High into a perennial state football powerhouse; Bob Lorence, who spent five years at Springfield (Montco) and 27 years at Plymouth Whitemarsh High as the head wrestling coach, winning 357 matches; Jim Romano, who has won 630 games as the Jenkintown High girls’ basketball coach, including his first PIAA Class A State Championship this year; and Richard Swanker, who posted a 176-9-1 dual meet record as track coach at North Penn High, including 16 undefeated seasons.
In addition, recently retired college football official Bruce Williams will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the induction banquet.
The new members of the Community Coaches Honor
Roll will be lauded during a special segment of the induction banquet and have their names enshrined in the new home of the Montgomery County Coaches Hall of Fame at Montgomery County Community College.
A relative newcomer to the Montgomery County scene, Elise Baker is an Army wife of a twice-deployed husband and is a working mother of two teenage girls. After her husband’s transfer to the area in 2015, she immediately became involved in softball coaching with Ambler Junior Baseball and Softball. Her involvement quickly escalated.
Baker was appointed AJB Softball Commissioner within her first season of coaching. She was then elected Vice President of the AJB Board. She created and is Commissioner of eXpress Tournament Softball, which is an entry-level competitive softball organization designed to develop players and deepen their love and understanding of the game. In just a few years she has established herself as a dynamic force in girls softball.
From bottom to top, Ken Constable has been incredibly involved in the Nor-Gwyn baseball program for more than 15 years. He began as a Little League coach, then moved on to the Connie Mack level and, finally the Sr. Connie Mack team.
His greatest contribution to the program has been as the Little League commissioner and board member. He started the Pony League, which provided a transition from T-Ball to the Minors. Every year he tireless championed the cause of players from a family that was struggling financially and nominated them for hardship cases that the board would approve.
To say that Ed Molnar has been the driving force behind Harleysville Baseball would be an understatement. He has coached Harleysville Baseball teams in six different decades, beginning in the 1960s.
Molnar originally began in 1964 with Norco Baseball and organized Coventry Little League in Pottstown. For the next 50 years his involvement in Harleysville Baseball included stints as a head coach of teams, ranging from seven year olds to Harleysville Connie Mack teams for 13-to-16 year olds. His teams won championships at all levels.
The town of Narberth has long been known for one of the most prolific CYO athletic programs in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. St. Margaret’s football and baseball teams have been area powerhouses for years and Marc “Rep” Siefer is a main contributor to the success.
He coached the CYO football team from 1983 to 1995, winning eight division championships. He was inducted into the CYO Football Hall of Fame in 2010. He also has coached the CYO baseball team since 1990, winning nine region championships.
Tickets for the banquet are available for purchase by contacting any member of the Hall of Fame Advisory Board. Additional information can be obtained by going to the website – www. mcchof.com or by calling the banquet management office at 610-279-9220.