Lenape Valley turning 50

Lenape Valley Regional High School will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this school year.

Earlier in 2004, the basketball court and softball field were named for longtime coaches in those sports.

In February, the basketball court was named for Robert Poetsch, the school’s original basketball coach from 1974 to 1985.

His teams won four conference titles in five years in the late ‘70s and early ’80s. He was the school’s all-time winniest basketball coach.

Poetsch died last November at age 78. He had taught physical education for more than 30 years.

The softball field was named for former coach Pete Corea during a ceremony May 9.

“Coach Pete Corea is not just a coach. He was a cornerstone of our athletic programs for nearly four decades,” athletic director Rob Klein said at the ceremony. “From the very beginning in 1974, Coach Corea’s presence shaped the spirit of Lenape Valley Patriots, instilling values of sportsmanship, teamwork and perseverance.”

As head coach of the girls softball team for 16 years, Corea’s teams won 268 games, or 82 percent of the games played. His teams won seven county championships, four state sectional championships and a Group 2 state championship in 1990.

The Lenape Valley softball team won another state championship in 1991 after Corea gave up the coaching job to spend more time with his family and to be a part of his children’s athletic careers.

From 1983 to 1990, he was named Coach of the Year nine times by various newspapers and a national high school scholastic magazine.

Corea became assistant coach of the baseball team in the early 2000s.

He was inducted into the New Jersey Interscholastic Association Hall of Fame in 2005 and named to the Lenape Valley Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.

’Lasting impression’

“Today, we honor Coach Pete Corea not just for his coaching achievements but for the lasting impression he has left on generations of athletes and students,” Klein said. “This dedication Is a symbol of our gratitude and a reminder of the values Coach Corea instilled in us.”

Joanne Hoover, a former Lenape Valley softball player who became head coach of the softball team in 2000, addressed him during the ceremony. “You instilled passion in every single one of your players. We are proud to have been part of your program. We will always look up to you as a role model. You made us feel important. You taught us to respect one another, to work hard and to do what was good for the team.”

Hoover pointed out that there were no club softball teams nor hitting instructors in the 1970s and ‘80s. “We were coached by you, and we were successful because of you. When we left your program, we were not only better softball players but better people.”

She added, “You built a softball dynasty. And for that, there is no one more deserving of a softball field dedication.”

Michael Rossi, president of the Lenape Valley Board of Education, told Corea, “Coach, your record is amazing. It stands alone, and from this time forward, the field will be a representation of what you contributed to this learning community, to this high school.

“The people that are here today - your former players, your family, your colleagues - are a testament to the mark that you have left and the legacy that will remain.”

Corea thanked his wife, Susan, and family. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

His wife took their children to games and recitals; he often was late to or missed those events when he was coaching. “That’s the life of a wife of a coach, and she’s A No. 1, believe me.”