DUBOIS – Tom Calliari of Brockway has been named head coach for the newly resurrected baseball team at Penn State DuBois.
Baseball has not been offered as an athletic option for students at the campus in decades, so Calliari is also vested with the responsibility of building a new program from the ground up, with his first team slated to play in the spring of 2016.
Calliari has coached at every collegiate level, after playing college baseball at Division II Lock Haven University. He started his coaching career in 1996 as an assistant at Division I Penn State University where his responsibilities included hitters/infielders and game day promotions.
Penn State went on to win its first and only Big Ten Championship that year. He then moved to Cleveland, Ohio to work at the Northern Ohio baseball club where he became an instructor at the Baseball School in Strongsville, Ohio.
Calliari spent the 1998 season at Division III Greensboro College in Greensboro, NC where his responsibilities included recruiting, infielders, hitting and first base coach. Greensboro won its first and only Dixie Conference Championship and was awarded an NCAA South Regional birth in his only year at Greensboro College.
During the summers from 1997 through 2002, Calliari helped establish, with other local franchise members, the Allegheny Mountain AAABA/NABF collegiate league, where he was the manager of the Keystone Baseball Academy. This wooden bat collegiate summer organization was made up of college baseball players from across the state of Pennsylvania.
In his six years, the Keystone Baseball Academy won six consecutive AAABA/NABF league championships, five World Series appearances and two Eastern Regional Titles and finished as Runner-Up at the 2001 NABF World Series in Dayton, Ohio. Keystone’s six-year record was a combined 157-59.
In his long coaching career, he has been fortunate to coach many players who were drafted by Major League Baseball. That list includes Nate Bump (Florida Marlins) at Penn State University and Joe Beimel (Pirates) for Keystone AAABA tourney.
In Addition, he coached a 16U team from Pennsylvania that participated in the Junior Olympic National Tournament where his team placed eighth out of 80 teams.
After the 1997 season, he was awarded the USA Baseball Pennsylvania Amateur Coach of the Year.
At the high school level, he spent three seasons at DuBois Central Catholic and Brockway Area High School as head baseball coach with a combined record of 34-23.
Calliari was the co-director of the Triple Play Baseball Camp held for six years at the DuBois Little League facility. He most recently coached an amateur travel team sponsored by BWP Bats for four seasons. His team had a record of 125-48-1 while also winning the prestigious Buckeye Classic in Columbus, Ohio (60 teams) and placed sixth at the USA Baseball Nationals in Richmond, Va.
Finally, he has been a camp instructor at Penn State University, Greensboro, Clarion, IUP, Lock Haven, and Western Michigan.
“I am very grateful and honored about the opportunity that athletic director Ken Nellis and the chancellor at Penn State DuBois have given to me,” Calliari said.
“I want to build a program that teaches young men to become better people through athletics, while maintaining a competitive program. Our goals are to compete at the highest level and to make consistent appearances in the conference championships and USCAA World Series.
“I would like to thank all my former and current employers that provided me the opportunity to teach and coach. Specifically, Mike Nesbit, Dan Baronick and Dan Read, who played significant roles in the success of all the local programs that we created and coached together.
“Finally, I would like to thank my family for being so supportive in allowing me to coach the sport I’m passionate about. The staff I have put together for PSU DuBois is second to none in knowledge and passion to make people better. I’m confident we can put together a program that everyone is proud of.”
Nellis said, “Starting a new athletic program is exciting and a challenge, but I am pleased that Tom Calliari has agreed to be the head coach and join the athletic coaching staff at Penn State DuBois.
“Tom brings a wealth of baseball knowledge and is well connected in the area with baseball people, which will bring energy and excitement to the campus sports programs.
“I am confident that Tom and his coaching staff will work hard to build a baseball team that we will be proud of. I must also say thank you to Herm Suplizzio, the DuBois Area High School Administration, and the DuBois community for welcoming us to play at Showers Field.
“Not having an adequate facility was holding us back from bringing baseball to the campus earlier. Showers Field will enhance the baseball experience and help us draw new student athletes to grow our campus.”
Calliari has spent the last 17 years teaching Health and Physical Education at Towanda, Philipsburg-Osceola, and currently the DuBois Area school district. He resides with his wife Stacia and two daughters, Emily and Peyton, in Brockway.