New Slippery Rock football coach Steve Monteleone carries military experience into first year leading Rockets
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Becoming a high school football head coach for the first time at age 60 might prove overwhelming to some.
To Steve Monteleone, it’s opportunity.
After 15 years as founder and president of the It’s About The Warrior Foundation — a position he continues to hold today — and 20 years as an assistant high school football coach, Monteleone accepted the reins of the Slippery Rock High School program in February.
He had served as the Rockets’ offensive coordinator last year after spending the previous decade as an assistant at North Allegheny.
“(Former Seneca Valley coach) Mike Buchert was a coach with NA the entire time I was there,” Monteleone said. “He knew (SR head coach) Larry Wendereusz from their time together at Seneca Valley. Mike took the offensive line coach job at Slippery Rock. They needed an offensive coordinator, and he recommended me.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to coach again at that point, but I talked to Larry and it all worked out.”
Wendereusz stepped down as head coach after last season, ending a 10-year run.
Again, Monteleone also planned on stepping away from coaching but was swayed by the community.
“Some of the parents of players and community members urged me to apply for the position,” he said. “I always wanted to be a head coach. I figured, why not go for it?
“They say when you get older, don’t sit still.”
Monteleone never has.
He served in the Air Force from 1986-92. He played hockey in New York before entering the service. He organized a golf outing at Olde Stonewall Golf Club to raise funds for veterans. Shortly after, he formed the It’s About The Warrior Foundation.
IATW serves veterans in Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia.
“There is such a need there,” Monteleone said. “I wanted to fill that need, create a family in a sense, give these people a place to go or someone to call for assistance in a variety of ways.”
IATW aids veterans looking for medical treatment, pain management, psychiatric care and outreach activities.
Monteleone said he “may work as many as 80 hours in a busy week” for IATW, as he is in charge of event planning and coordination. He also oversees numerous committees and volunteers.
“We have a huge team of volunteers, hundreds of veterans,” Monteleone said. “We’re a small organization, but we’ve raised over $5 million in the past 13 years.”
IATW also has an intramural hockey team known as the Pittsburgh Warthogs, which has competed in Chicago, Tampa Bay, Dallas and Nashville, among other cities. IATW has also taken veterans on hunting and fishing trips to Wyoming, Texas, Missouri and New York.
“It’s all about comradery,” Monteleone said. “The veterans get together, get to know each other, share things with each other. The locker room conversations at our hockey games aren’t typical stuff. … These people have seen and experienced horrific things. It’s a way to get stuff out in the open. It’s great for mental health.”
Monteleone keeps himself available 24/7 to veterans who need someone to talk with at the spur of the moment.
“I’ve taken calls in the middle of the night many times,” he said. “That’s all part of this.”
Now, being a head football coach is part of it, too.
“Steve is a great leader, period,” Buchert said. “To do what he’s done with his foundation, building that thing from scratch into a multimillion dollar nonprofit … He can certainly run a football team.
“He’s so enthusiastic and active. He walks, he runs, he lifts. That energy and enthusiasm is transferring over to the kids.”
Monteleone shows up at the high school at 5 a.m. to work with the Slippery Rock players in lifting and team building. He leaves at noon to handle his IATW duties, then gets back to football at night.
“These guys (in IATW) know I love football. They want me to be successful. They’re working with me, and I appreciate it,” Monteleone said.
He added his experience with the military has helped him in adjusting to being a first-time head football coach.
“I preach accountability and responsibility to the kids,” he said. “Commitment is everything. That applies in any team in life.”
Many of Monteleone’s assistant coaches are former Slippery Rock players. Dylan Neal, a 2013 SR graduate, is one of them.
Neal has been on the SR coaching staff for nine years.
“His leadership skills are so evident,” Neal said of Monteleone. “You can tell he has a military background. He has the kids so focused and alert. It’s so exciting. He has a passion for veterans and a passion for coaching.
“My father was in the Navy. My grandfather was in the Air Force. I have great respect for Coach Monteleone and what he stands for.”
Buchert pointed out he and Monteleone are 60 or older. The rest of the coaches on staff are under 30.
The age discrepancy has not been an issue.
“Steve always asks the other coaches if they want to grab a bite to eat after a practice,” Buchert said. “He works on bonding all the time. Obviously, he knows what that’s about.
“He doesn’t micromanage. He trusts people to do their jobs and grow as coaches.”
During Slippery Rock’s home game Sept. 11, the Rocket football team will honor the military and veterans in a pregame ceremony. More than 50 veterans are expected to attend. Monteleone designed a special logo for his team’s helmets and a flyover will be included in the festivities.
“These kids weren’t born when 9/11 happened,” Monteleone said. “I want them to understand what happened that day, how our country stood together. Our players know what the American flag means to me.
“That will be an educational night for them … an emotional night for me.”
