Batavia picks Piron to succeed Gaspari

Dennis Piron called Thursday a very emotional day.

It could have been no other way.

The 1983 Batavia graduate was introduced as the Bulldogs' new varsity head football coach at a players' meeting at school Thursday morning.

In succeeding the retiring Mike Gaspari after 26 seasons at the helm, Piron takes over for one of his high school coaches, his mentor and lifelong friend “the most influential man in my entire life,” Piron said.

Piron's eighth-grade son, Peyton, is Mike Gaspari's godson. Piron held Gaspari's son, Noel now a Batavia junior and the team's quarterback days after his birth.

Thus emotions obviously were at the surface upon Piron's transition from Batavia's defensive coordinator, which he's been since 1992, to its head coach.

“I'm so honored to take this position, but I would have been just as honored to continue in my current role with Mike forever and ever,” said Piron, officially informed by Batavia administration on Wednesday.

“This is an opportunity that I obviously am so happy to have and I hope that I honor it by doing great things and working hard, and making sure that our kids are pleased and proud of the job that I do.”

Piron, 45, who lives in Batavia with his wife, Joanne, and children Peyton, Alexandra and Tyler, will succeed a coach in Gaspari who turned a struggling program into a consistent winner. In Piron's senior season as a tight end and defensive end, the Bulldogs were 0-9.

“Honestly, when Mike took over he had a great challenge,” said Piron, a Batavia High algebra and computer programming teacher who will also maintain his position as head coach of boys track and field.

“We were not a great program,” he said. “Things were really tough in Batavia. We had no facilities. Kids were embarrassed to wear their jerseys in our hallways. That's how bad it was. And Mike changed all that, not only as coach but as athletic director.

“We have a great program that is led by in my estimation a hall of fame head coach, where we have now facilities because of our community's generosity that are going to be second to none. And a coaching staff that has been loyal to Mike and all have expressed continually they want to be loyal to our high school and continue to work here.

“We've all been coaching here, a lot of us, for 20 years. That's not going to change very much, which is great for our kids. That consistency and continuity is in one part a great reason for the success of our program.”

Gaspari, 139-118 at Batavia with 14 playoff appearances and a 2006 Class 6A state runner-up finish, will continue as a Bulldogs assistant, working mainly with the offense. He will be succeeded as athletic director by Chip Hickman, presently an associate principal, and athletic administrator and the school's activities director.

“I'm thrilled with the transition for our program and, most importantly, for the young men in our program,” said Gaspari, noting that Piron has been “instrumental” to Batavia's development on the football field.

“He's done an exemplary job as a coach, he's an extremely hard worker and he's very passionate about our program and about our kids in our program. The transition just couldn't be better.”

Piron credited Gaspari even for getting him to North Central College. Piron said Gaspari, then a Bulldogs assistant and also a North Central graduate, stayed after Batavia practices working with Piron on “wide receiver stuff.” Piron utilized his speed and good hands for Cardinals coaches Lloyd Krumlauf and Paul Connor before graduating in 1987.

Two years later Gaspari was in his fifth season as Batavia's head coach and asked Piron if he could possibly help out keeping statistics.

The rest is history. And now it is Piron's turn to continue the history.

“I just want to honor the traditions established by Mike,” he said. “Primarily I want to continue to make student-athletes the priority in our school in terms of what I do on a daily basis. Make sure I value relationships with those kids, that we compete at a high level and that we respect the game.”

He said, “Think about the role Mike has played in my life. The day Noel was born, within a few days I saw him. I was there, I held him when he was a baby.

“I'm a part of all this, and I'm so proud to be able to be a part of it in the future, in the role that I'm going to get to play.”