After a four-year hiatus, George Parkinson is back as a Pioneer Athletic Conference head football coach.
Parkinson, the head man at St. Pius X for its final four seasons, was approved as Boyertown’s new coach by an 8-1 vote by the school board Tuesday night.
The 52-year-old Parkinson, the head coach at Boyertown Junior High East the past four seasons, succeeds Mark Scisly — who left in the offseason to take the head coaching position at Northampton.
“I’m extremely excited,’ Parkinson said. “I think there’s great potential for a great future here.’
Parkinson stepped down from varsity coaching so he could watch his son, Cole, a St. Pius X grad, play at Bloomsburg.
“I’m the type of guy who when I do something it’s all out,’ Parkinson said. “I didn’t feel that I’d be able to put as much effort into coaching at the high school level while going to his games, but I still wanted to keep coaching. So by coaching the freshmen (at East) I could still do that.’
According to Boyertown athletic director Madison Morton, there were 17 “viable’ applications for the position, with the candidates narrowed to seven and then three by respective interviews.
“I thought George interviewed very well,’ Morton said. “What you see in George is that he has a lot of passion for the game. He has a lot of enthusiasm and passion for the kids. I think he’s going to be a great fit.’
Parkinson, an assistant at St. Pius X from 2004-05, took over as Winged Lions coach in 2006 and had a 12-34 career mark. St. Pius X was 8-6 in his final season, qualifying for the PIAA Class A Tournament.
Boyertown went 5-4 in the PAC-10 and 7-4 overall last season.
“I think it’s going to be a great year this year, and I foresee good things happening in the future,’ Parkinson said.
