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Tom Blackford resigned after 14 seasons at Fayetteville-Manlius and returned to Hamilton, where he chalked up the first 317 of his 497 wins, including a pair of NYSPHSAA championships. First-year Hamilton coach Joe LePage will take over the JV duties.
And Syracuse Henninger's Erik Saroney is moving up to the junior college ranks, accepting the coaching position at Onondaga Community College after a 238-72 mark and five Section 3 titles.
Mike Grosodonia also left to join the college ranks, taking a job as an assistant at St. John Fisher after a 194-38 record in 10 seasons and the 2016 NYSPHSAA Class AA championship with Aquinas.
Longtime PSAL football coach Jim Munson retired after compiling a 178-88-3 mark at Tottenville. Munson also captured two PSAL city championships in 24 seasons.
Though he's staying on in football, Orchard Park coach Gene Tundo traded in his varsity lacrosse duties before the most recent season to coach the boys modified program. Tundo, who began coaching in 1984, ranks sixth in state history with 543 wins. He coached the Quakers to their 23rd Section 6 championship in 25 years in 2014.
Two Section 5 boys soccer veterans concluded their careers. Herb Baker retired at Jasper-Troupsburg after 557 victories, 13 Section 5 championships and two NYSPHSAA crowns. North Rose-Wolcott's Gordon "Scotty" Martin, won more than 400 games and eight sectional trophies.
In baseball, Bob Weismore, who won 328 games and two NYSPHSAA championships in 16 years at Westhill, announced his retirement after a 19-3 season.
Tottenville girls basketball and softball coach Cathy Morano also retired. Morano was the basketball coach the last 28 years (376-259 overall record, 20 winning seasons) and coached softball for 14 seasons. Her softball teams were 283-14 in PSAL competition -- there was a 117-game regular-season winning streak -- with a record 10 city championships, including this spring.
Staten Island Academy girls coach Rose Bruno, who guided the Tigers to three Federation basketball championships, resigned to focus on her family and nursing administration career. She was 141-44.
Doug Rowe left Baldwinsville girls lacrosse after 26 seasons and one state title, quickly resurfacing this summer as the coach at Rome Free Academy.
Welcome back
Dwayne "Tiny" Morton's taste of college coaching on the Seton Hall staff proved to be short-lived, and the former Abraham Lincoln boys basketball coach returned to the Railsplitters for the 2015-16 season to add to his 400-plus career victories.
Syracuse Corcoran girls basketball coach Jim Marsh says he's ready to return to the sideline this fall after taking a season off while being treated for Stage 4 liver and colon cancer. Marsh, who's won 493 games and eight Section 3 titles in 31 seasons, took the 2015-16 season off while enduring three surgeries and extensive chemotherapy.
"A lot of stars had to align for me to be sitting here and having this conversation with you -- and they have," he told Syracuse.com.
Not their choice to leave
The growing issue of coaches -- often successful and popular local figures -- continues on in New York high school sports. A sampling of this year's eyebrow-raising dismissals included:
Maybe the most surprising departure was that of Kristi Dini after she steered Somers' girls basketball team to a 19-3 season -- the Huskers' best showing ever. A personality clash with an administrator heavily involved in AAU basketball may have cost the district one of the state's rising stars in the sport's coaching ranks.
