Don Panzarella, the winningest head coach in New Jersey softball history, is leaving a program he turned into a powerhouse. Citing a lack of support from the administration, Panzarella tenured his resignation in late May.
Having held the head coach position at South Plainfield High School (South Plainfield, New Jersey) since 1982, Panzarella has a record of 848 wins. Via reporting from NJ Advance Media, Panzarella wrote in his resignation letter that “too many personal, individual parent agendas” coupled with a lack of administration support made his position untenable.
According to TapInto, a hyper-local news outlet, Panzarella explained in his resignation letter what precipitated this decision:
“I did not envision the end of my coaching career at South Plainfield to occur in this fashion. However, I cannot continue to coach under the current climate. It is clear that I have been put into a situation where a very small faction of people, led by a parent of a player who is a Board of Education member, are being permitted to make false claims and place me in a false light.”
In 1989, Panazarella was inducted into the New Jersey Coaches Hall of Fame.
