PIFL Lehigh Valley Steelhawks

Steelhawks 2014 Coaching Staff Finalized

Published on September 30, 2013 under Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL)
Lehigh Valley Steelhawks News Release


Bethlehem, PA: The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks are pleased to announce that their 2014 coaching staff has been finalized. Head Coach Chris Thompson (Offensive Coordinator) is returning for his third season in the Valley. He has surrounded himself again with experienced coaches, all of whom have been on the Steelhawk staff previously - Preston McKnight (Defensive Coordinator), Matt Cohen (Defensive Assistant/Special Teams Coordinator), Bill Sellars (Offensive Assistant/Director of Player Personnel), Geoff Laird (Volunteer Defensive Assistant/DB Coach), and Mike Cerimele Jr. (Strength and Conditioning Coach).

Coach McKnight has been on the Steelhawks staff for the last two seasons in a more reserved role of Quality Control Consultant. This year, he becomes a much bigger facet of the staff as the Defensive Coordinator. McKnight enters his 30th season of coaching football, and his 5th in coaching in the indoor game. He has coached high school football for 22 years, 7 as the head football coach at Schuylkill Valley HS and Reading HS, earning Coach of the Year honors in 2003. He coached at Kutztown University under Dave Keeny and Raymond Monica before moving to the professional indoor game with the Reading Express, leading the defense to the AIFA National Championship in 2009. During the 2012 and 2013 AFL season, Coach McKnight was the Director of Football Programming for the Philadelphia Soul, which went to back to back Arena Bowl World Championships.

Coach Cohen returns to the organization for his fourth year, and second as a coach. He takes on the role as Special Teams Coordinator in addition to helping with the defense this season. Cohen attended Lehigh University from 2006-2010 where he played Linebacker and earned All American honors, he played two seasons for Lehigh Valley Steelhawks of the IFL earning 1st team Ironman honors in 2012, and now currently coaches running backs on the varsity team for Bethlehem Catholic High School.

Coach Sellars takes on a much more involved role as well this year, becoming the Director of Player Personnel as well as Offensive Assistant versus his role last year as the TE/RBs Coach. Sellars previously coached with the Reading Express and the Harrisburg Stampede. In his previous coaching positions he has coached defensive line, running backs, and special teams. He has been married to his wife Heather for ten years and has two sons, five year old Connor and two year old Cooper.

Coach Laird maintains his role as Defensive Backs Coach and Defensive Assistant. This is his second season on a professional coaching staff. Laird is entering his eleventh season coaching at the high school level. He served as assistant coach and Special Teams Coordinator during his eight years at Freedom High School and is currently the Defensive Coordinator at Salisbury High School in Allentown. His other coaching experience includes coaching the linebackers and defensive backs in the 2012 National Bowl (College All-Star Game). He resides in Emmaus with his wife, Wendy, and their four children, Sean (8), Sofie (6), Teddy (4), and Ty (4).

Coach Cerimele also returns as the Hawks' Strength and Conditioning Coach. This will be the second year Cerimele and his staff at Velocity Sports Performance inside Game Time Fieldhouse has been teamed up with the Steelhawks. Cerimele has a very successful history as a football player himself, playing for and graduating from Central Catholic High School (1996) and then Penn State University. He was picked up as a Rookie Free Agent during the 2000 NFL draft. Between 2000 and 2002, Mike played for the Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, Amsterdam Admirals (NFL Europe) and finished his professional football career during the 2002 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to a related injury. Mike them worked as a Pharmaceuticals Sales Consultant for Novartis Pharmaceuticals, as well as a Territory Manager for EBI, Inc., in the spinal implant sales industry from fall 2002 until winter 2005. Mike is currently a Strength & Conditioning Consultant for Gatorade and has spent the last five years as the Center & Business Director for a very successful Velocity Sports Performance Franchise.

Thompson is very excited about the 2014 staff that is in place. "I am so excited to announce these guys as the 2014 Steelhawks Assistant Coaching Staff. There is no doubt that I have surrounded myself with great professional coaches and excited to get back to work with them for the 2014 season. This past 2013 off-season and season was a huge success for the organization and we were finally able to lay the foundation for what I believe can be a Championship caliber football program. The strides we made; with our first ever winning season along with moving up another dozen or so players to higher professional teams, is a credit to each of them, past and present, their dedication and commitment to the Steelhawks organization, and all of the efforts of the ownership and front office. However, now is the time to finish what we started in 2013 and bring home our first ever League Championship and that is exactly what we have our sights set on again. We hope you will come fly with us again in 2014 for another run at the 2014 PIFL Championship Cup!"

The team is already beginning the recruiting process for the 2014 season. The first open tryout for the 2014 season will be Saturday, November 23rd at Iron Lakes Sports Complex. Stay tuned for the Steelhawks to announce their 2014 PIFL game schedule, coming soon! Keep checking for the latest news and events from the Steelhawks! For further information please call Lehigh Valley Steelhawks Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Clark at (610) 282-3100, or visit our website at www.LVSteelhawks.com for the latest Steelhawks news!

Fans are reminded that 2014 season ticket deposits are being accepted now to reserve your seats for the 2014 PIFL season. You can reserve your seats by calling the Steelhawks front office at 610-282-3100. Ticket packages start as low as $48!

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