The Manheim Township School District has hired Dr. Joseph L. Narkiewicz to head its high school wrestling program.

He becomes the eighth coach in the history of the program and replaces Jan Minnich.

Minnich, the second longest-serving wrestling coach at Township, had a 12-year record of 70-104 overall, 21-51 in the L-L League.

While he has coached wrestling for more than 30 years, this will be Narkiewicz' first time directing a high school varsity.

His promotion follows one year coaching the Township Middle School program, which finished a best-in-ages record of 16-5, with five finalists in the Elizabethtown Optimist Tournament, the unofficial L-L League junior high championships. Three of those finalists won titles.

"Joe has the unique perspective of being the parent of very successful wrestlers, a coach for over 30 years and a former school administrator," Kevin Raquet, Director of Athletics at Township, said by e-mail.

"Joe did a tremendous job as the coach of our freshman program. (He) understands what it takes to develop successful wrestlers and quality student athletes. His knowledge … will be a great resource to both our student athletes and parents."

"Initially my response was to remain as the junior high coach," said Narkiewicz, who took the job with the anticipation of providing long-term stability after an 18-year revolving door of junior high coaches at Township.

But the opportunity to coach the high school was hard to resist. Easing his decision to move up was his good friend Dale Dietrich, the longtime junior high coach at Warwick, agreeing to come out of retirement to coach the Blue Streak freshmen.

With that, the pieces of what Narkiewicz calls, "my dream team staff," began to fall into place. Dietrich will be assisted by former Pequea Valley head coach Mark Grossmann.

Varsity assistant Matt Flannery returns and Narkiewicz's son Eric, who was an assistant at Hempfield Junior High, joins his father to round out the high school staff.

Upon graduation from Millersville in 1973, Narkiewicz, a Minersville native, taught 10 years at James Buchanan Elementary School in the School District of Lancaster.

After earning Master's degrees in Guidance and Counseling and in Educational Administration, Narkiewicz spent two years as a guidance counselor and one as an assistant principal in the city, leaving the district to accept an elementary principal position in the Manheim Central School District.

One year later the Lititz resident "came home" to Warwick. Over the ensuing 20 years he was principal at the Lititz and John Beck elementary schools before retiring at the end of the 2006 school year.

During this time he earned his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

His wrestling coaching career began with a two-year stint as an assistant at Wheatland Junior High School.

He then took over as he head coach and, over the next ten years, prepped many of the athletes who led McCaskey's wrestling renaissance of the mid-80s and early-90s.

Wheatland never had a losing season under Narkiewicz, whose teams won two section titles and one E-town Tournament team title.

His departure from the city coincided with the arrival of his sons, Brent, Eric and, later, Kyle, on the youth wrestling scene.

Over the next 18 years he coached at the elementary level and as an assistant at Warwick Middle School.

"When you have the opportunity to coach your own sons, the experience adds a critical element of studying the sport at another level," Narkiewicz said.

He also studied their post-scholastic careers as Brent and Eric went on to wrestle for Penn State, while Kyle wrestled for the University of Virginia.

The experience, he said, allowed him to "look at all the wrestlers I coach in a different light.

"By observing my sons wrestle at the Division I level I have learned that it is best to over-drill and under-teach. I've learned it's not about if you win, but how you win. And, it is not about if you lose, but how you lose."

With his sons, and the sons of others, there has been much more winning than losing. And standing in support through it all has been his wife Betty, a reading specialist in the Warwick School District.

While she may have thought her life as a wrestling mom was behind her after Kyle's graduation from Virginia in 2007, it never really ends.

And now, a new adventure begins.

E-mail: dbyrne@lnpnews.com