Wvc Hockey Stars Win All-state Honors

Anna Sereta 
Dec. 9, 1994 
Anna E. Sereta, 81, Of Peace Street, Hazleton, Died Friday Morning At 
Hazleton-st. Joseph Medical Center.

Sunday, December 11, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1C 





Title gives Curry another tremendous feeling &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Times like these make it all worthwhile for George CurryThe football field
has been his second home for 28 years. And Friday night at Mansion Park, the
17-hour days, hard work and, yes, even the frustrations of coaching
Pennsylvania's most successful high school football program were many miles
away. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Berwick won its third state title in the last seven years Friday night with
a 27-7 win over Sharon in the PIAA Class AAA final. No other school has won
even two state championships since the state playoff system began in 1988. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Following the game, underneath the bleachers of the stadium, the veteran
coach let his emotions run freely. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This is a tremendous feeling," said an emotional Curry, who begins nearly
every day during the season with a 5:30 a.m. trip to the Berwick fieldhouse
and concludes most days after 11 p.m. "I don't know if people realize how hard
we work at this. We have the kids and the coaches who are willing to put in
the long hours. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Football is a passion with us at Berwick. That's why we win." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Curry has never been satisfied with mediocrity. In fact, it was his quest
for excellence that brought him to Berwick 24 years ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At the age of 22 and a recent graduate of Temple University, Curry was
offered the head coaching job at Lake-Lehman High School. But after four years
at the Back Mountain school, Curry knew it was time to move on. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I wanted a bigger school and a bigger challenge," said Curry, who credits
former Lake-Lehman principal Tony Marchakitus with giving him his first break.
"Lehman is a great school and the people are tremendous. But I wanted to coach
at a school where the football program was bigger. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "At the time, they weren't winning here at Berwick," added Curry, who
became the Bulldog coach in 1971. "They only had three winning seasons in the
1960s. It was a tremendous challenge." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Curry took on the challenge the way he took on opponents as a player for
Larksville High School and Temple University. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He instilled character in his players. He taught them about accountability.
About organization. About setting immediate and long-range goals. And he
taught them how to win. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And win. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And win. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Friday night's victory over Sharon was Berwick's 41st win in its last 43
games. The Dawgs have won an unprecedented three state titles, been to the
state finals four times since 1988 and won two mythical national titles. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 From an early age, Curry knew what he wanted in life. And now that he's
living out his boyhood dream, he's enjoying every minute of it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I always wanted to be a football coach and a teacher," said Curry, who is
also a guidance counselor and a driver's education instructor at Berwick. "I
coached a freshman team while I was a student in prep school and we went
undefeated. I fell in love with coaching. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I love what I'm doing," Curry said. "There are some guys who wake up in
the morning and dread going to work. I look forward to going to work every
morning. I love working with young people." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Curry, who recently turned 50, has made his tour through the media circles. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Besides the local and statewide attention, the Berwick coach has seen his
program featured on "Nightline," in Sports Illustrated, GQ, USA Today, the
Philadelphia Inquirer and in almost every major newspaper in the nation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "That's not why I coach," said Curry of the spotlight. "I love people,
especially young people. I like being a part of their lives. I take great
satisfaction in knowing that I may have played a small role in someone's life. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's a great feeling." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The personal accomplishments have come as well for Curry, who is the
state's winningest active high school coach with 269 wins. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He's a member of the elite "250-win Club" for coaches and the Associated
Press Big School Coach of the Year. He's also coached in the Big 33 game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I've never concerned myself with personal awards," Curry said. "In the
coaching profession, you're only as good as the last game you coach. You can
win an award in one season and get fired in the next. I've seen it happen
many, many times. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Fortunately, I've been surrounded by an administration and a school board
at Berwick that has been very supportive." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But with any successful program there are bound to be detractors, and the
Dawgs have had their share in the last two decades. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Curry has heard the rumors. He's heard people talk about recruiting. He's
heard them talk about how he wins at all costs. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But the outspoken Curry says there's just one person he has to answer to --
himself. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Every morning, I can get up and look in the mirror and know what kind of
program we run," Curry said. "First of all, I've never recruited a person in
my life. We've had a couple of kids move into our school district, but you're
going to have that with every school. Look at the Ismails (Raghib and Quadry).
They moved to Meyers from New Jersey and no one talked about recruiting. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "You're going to have people who say things out of jealousy or envy," he
added. "It doesn't bother me because I know we do things the right way. We
drug-test our players. It gets back to what I've said before. We win because
we work hard at it." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Despite leading his team to the school's third state title, the highly
successful coach isn't ready to call himself a coaching legend. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "When I hear the word legend, I think of someone being old," said Curry
with a laugh. "A coaching legend, if you want to use that word, means someone
has survived a lot of seasons and has had some success. But most of all, if I
hear someone calling me a legend, I think it means I'm the old guy." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Now that his 28th season of coaching is under his belt, Curry will take a
few days to enjoy the fruits of his season with his wife, Jackie ("Mrs.
Bulldog," according to George), children Cozmo, Christine, Kelly and Nadine
and two grandchildren. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Then, it's back to work. Again. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Health-wise, I feel great," Curry said. "I walk about five miles a day, do
a little light (weight) lifting. As long as I have my health, I think I can go
another 10 or 15 years. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "As long as I enjoy working with the kids and have an administration and
school board who appreciate what we're doing here, I'll be the football coach
at Berwick High School." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Title Gives Curry Another Tremendous Feeling Times Like These Make It All Worthwhile For George Curry.