Treonze honored by NJSIAA

Long-time MHS coach recalls CJ 1 track title

By: Shawn Tyrrell
   
   Who says that longevity no longer has its rewards?
   Last year, Manville High School quite suddenly had one of its long-time teacher-coaches retire. A part of Manville academics and athletics for over 38 years, Tony Treonze was more than a just a teacher and a coach.
   The Hillsborough resident was one of those rare individuals that this writer believes had seen and been a part of it all. The former football, track and cross country coach was just this past week presented with a longtime service award from the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association because of his many years of dedication coaching the Manville High track and field program.
   Treonze was a bit surprised with the award. He also felt fortunate to get his first head coaching job right out of college back in 1966.
   "Originally I had applied for the track assistant coaching job thinking I needed to get some experience," Treonze said. "But there was no head coach at the time so I got the job. I am the kind of person who likes to stay in one place, and after being at Manville as long as I had it was nice to be honored."
   Treonze has many fond memories of his coaching days and admitted it wasn’t an easy decision to retire.
   "We had some good years and some bad, but overall for me it was a great experience and something I do miss," Treonze said. "Sometimes I look back and think I should have stayed on. But I felt when it came down to it and making that decision you have to do so while you still can."
   Coach Treonze not only led the Mustangs to a state championship in track and field in 1986, but also was an assistant to head football coach Ned Panfile when MHS was a powerhouse from 1966-1970. Treonze took over for Panfile in 1972 when he moved on to become Vice-Principal, and the team continued be successful usually winning five or six games a season under his tutelage.
   Besides coaching track and football at Manville, Treonze’s other roles during his tenure included serving as an assistant for six seasons at Hillsborough under Joe Paulino, working as a Driver’s Ed instructor and history teacher at MHS, and for the past five years he was in charge of the cross country team at Manville.
   "We had some success in football," Treonze said. "It was kind of neat that I was able to be a coach on two teams that won championships, one with Manville and the other with Hillsborough. When I was at Hillsborough, the championship game was played at the Meadowlands, and we beat the No. 1 ranked team to win."
   Treonze’s football title with Manville came back in1968, when the team went 9-0. Panfile pointed out why he hired Treonze and what he brought to the program.
   "When I interviewed him, I felt he was the type of person I wanted on my staff. He was loyal and a hard worker whom you could trust," Panfile said. "When Tony coached, he taught the kids tradition and he kept the kids on the field and the players looked forward to winning. He is straight-up and a good person that you like to be associated with."
   Over the years, Treonze has seen many kids come and go, taught many students how to drive and even showed some of those same kids’ parents the skills needed to be behind the wheel. If he had to name the highlight of all the years of working at Manville, though, Treonze would say the track and field championship stood above all the rest.
   "When we won the Central Jersey Group 1 Championship in track back in 1986, that was something special," Treonze said.
   At the conclusion of the meet, Treonze tried to get the scorer’s table to make the officials realize they had made a mistake giving the championship to Metuchen.
   "I had come up with a different score," Treonze said. "But the scorekeeper wouldn’t agree and we left having lost. The next day I received a call from the coach of Highland Park who had been running the meet. He called to say that a mistake was indeed made and that we had won by one point over Metuchen and that they were taking the trophy back and giving it to us.
   "We were a good team that year," Treonze added. "We deserved to win and that is something you don’t forget. The best is that over the years some of the athletes from that team and others that I have coached come back and we relive those moments. That makes coaching all the more worthwhile."
   While Treonze had many accomplishments on the field he also excelled in the classroom.
   "Tony did a lot as a teacher for the kids and the school," Panfile said. "He handled himself professionally and was a big asset to the district."
   Athletic director Pat LaMastro is another associate who has gotten to know Treonze over the years. LaMastro came to Manville a few years after Treonze but he could see right away what made him special.
   "One thing that made Tony special was how he cared about the kids," LaMastro said. "He brought a real commitment to the school and always made himself available for the kids after school and was always there when you needed him. He truly cared about the kids whether it was in the classroom or on the field."
   With the award for service now in his collection and having only recently started down the road of retirement, Treonze has no regrets.
   "I enjoyed myself at Manville," Treonze said. "I have some good memories of Manville and never wanted to go anywhere else. I am glad I chose to stay, and looking back I have no regrets."
   It is hard to replace someone of Tony Treonze’s character and commitment. Thirty-eight years in one place is a long time for anyone.
   "With Tony gone, we lose a little bit of history," LaMastro said.
   Treonze certainly earned his NJSIAA award and place in Manville High School history.