JEFFERSON TWP — While life doesn't start at age 63, George Bradley's life as a high school head baseball coach has.

The retired teacher and former Butler assistant coach was approved as the Knoch baseball coach during a South Butler School District board meeting Wednesday night.

Bradley replaces Curt Schnur, who resigned after 11 years.

“I'm excited about this. I can't wait to get started,” Bradley said. “This is just the beginning for me.”

Bradley served as pitching coach under Dave Florie at Butler for the past five years. He was an assistant coach at Shaler for four years before that.

He has never been a head coach until now.

“Most high school coaches get started young and get out when they're 35 or so to watch or work with their own children,” Bradley said. “I guess I'm at the back end that way.”

Bradley has 22 years of baseball coaching experience, including nine years working with Bob Steiner and the Mars American Legion program.

His first season as a baseball coach was with his 8-year-old son's Little League team.

“I was out in the backyard throwing some baseball with my son and I was showing him some batting stances,” Bradley said. “He told me that wasn't the way his coach showed him how to hit.

“I couldn't conflict what his coaches were telling him, so I figured I better get involved.”

Bradley was a high school biology teacher. He taught for three years at Penn Hills and 33 years at Shaler before retiring.

He earned a degree in counseling in 1989 and worked in a assistance program at Shaler, helping students who had drug or alcohol problems.

“I really enjoy working with young Americans and I love coaching baseball,” Bradley said.

Florie described Bradley as a tireless worker.

“This could be a first for this area: a first-time head coach at his age,” the retired Butler coach said. “But he's in tremendous shape and the effort will be put forward, that's for sure.

“I always wanted to get to the field an hour before the kids arrived and George was usually there before me. He has knowledge in all facts of the game and he's an extremely hard worker,” Florie added.

Bradley applied for the Butler head coaching position the year the district hired Florie.

“George's name was passed on to me and I interviewed him for the assistant's job,” Florie said. “It didn't take long to see he was a man of action. He was a fantastic assistant.”

Bradley's philosophy on life is “I want to wear out, not rust out.”

Knoch finished 11-9 last season, losing 1-0 to Elizabeth Forward in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. That team graduated nine seniors.

The Knights have been to the playoffs three times in the past six years, losing in the first round each time.

“We have a nice corps of five players coming back and the goal, naturally, is to get to the playoffs and go from there,” Bradley said. “That's not going to come easily. It will be a process and everyone has to work hard.”