Calling It A Career
JACKSON TWP — A 1-0 win to close out a non-playoff season in high school softball might seem insignificant.
To Seneca Valley coach George Trew and the Raider softball program, SV's 1-0 win over Fox Chapel to close the 2021 campaign carried plenty of significance.
It was the 250th win of Trew's career.
It was also his last.
Trew, 64, has announced his retirement after 21 years at the helm of the Raiders.“How many coaches get to walk off a winner like that?,” SV athletic director Heather Lewis said. “George deserved that. He loved the game of softball and that passion came out in his coaching.“Steady is the best way to describe him. His teams were always in the mix.”Trew was an assistant coach under Greg Hayward for seven years before becoming head coach.And his coaching career extended far beyond softball.“I've had a pretty good run,” Trew said. “I've coached for more than 60 high school sports seasons. I've almost coached one season for every year of my age.“I guess that shows I've been at this for a while.”Trew was an assistant football coach for 17 years. Between Highlands and Seneca Valley, he was an assistant basketball coach for 12 years. He was head baseball coach for four years at St. Joseph's.He also coached the Brooklyn (NY) team for a number of years at the Freeport International baseball event, coached Palomino baseball for nine years and was offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Passion women's football team for two years.Trew wound up being one of the most consistent varsity coaches at Seneca Valley in terms of winning.Besides his 250 softball wins at SV, he carried a .640 career winning percentage. The Raiders were 11-7 this year and had winning seasons in 10 of the past 11 years.“There's been so many highlight moments,” Trew said. “So many come-from-behind wins ... Our 20-3 team (in 2007) that went to the WPIAL championship game was a pretty special team.“But I've been blessed with good kids here. I never had any issues with them.“I kept my job all this time, so I guess I was good with all the parents, too,” he added with a chuckle.Lewis respected Trew's attention to detail as a head coach.“You could just see the development of our softball players from the time they entered the program as freshmen, on through their senior years,” she said. “George took the time to work with every single player on the team, year after year.“He made a difference in those girls.”Trew coached the Raiders' 2007 and 2011 teams to the WPIAL Class 4A title game. He was Hayward's assistant when SV won the district title in the late 1990s.Trew's teams won a handful of section championships as well.“We always seemed to have talent here,” he said. “One year, the Ivy League Player of the Year, a Division II conference player of the year and Division III player of the year were all Seneca Valley graduates who played for me.“I just enjoyed doing it,” he said of coaching. “If I lived closer to here, I'd still be doing it.”Trew moved to Lower Burrell four years ago.“I'd commute back up to Seneca Valley six days a week,” he said. “It got to be too much. I just felt like it was time to get out.”But he's not totally out.Trew umpires baseball during the summer. He plans to get his license to umpire softball games next spring.“I've met so many good people through softball,” he said. “They may be my enemies when I'm coaching against them, but they're good friends afterward.“I'll miss the kids, the players themselves. It was fun working with them.”Trew also appreciates the all-turf softball field his teams got to play on the past few years.“Heather Lewis deserves all the credit for that,” he said. “She allowed me to help design that field. She's done so much for our entire athletic program.“That field probably added four years to my coaching career. That's four years I didn't have to carry the tarp out,” Trew said, laughing.Lewis said the process to replace Trew is underway. Tentative plans are to hire a new head softball coach in August.
