On
the Mohney
Ex-Tornado
helps Butler boys soccer thrive as coach
BUTLER TWP— The transition from stellar soccer player to stellar soccer coach
didn't pose a problem for Troy Mohney.
The 1995 Butler graduate had no high school coaching experience when he joined
Chuck Kelley's staff as the Golden Tornado boys junior varsity coach in 2005.
"I applied for the head coaching position back then,"Mohney recalled.
"When Chuck got the job, the administration gave him my name and a
recommendation for consideration as his JV coach.
"It was Chuck's hire, of course, and I didn't know him at the time, so I
guess the board sold me pretty good."
Mohney didn't keep the role of assistant coach for very long. After that 2005
campaign, Kelley took the Hampton varsity.
Kelley lives in the Hampton Township area and had been an assistant coach
there.
"It was a chance for Chuck to go back to a program closer to home that he
helped build,"Mohney said. "But I learned a lot from him when he was
here."
During Kelley's lone season at Butler, the Golden Tornado reached the
WPIALplayoffs for only the second time since 1994, which was Mohney's senior
season.
The Tornado have qualified for the WPIAL postseason in all three of Mohney's
seasons at the helm, marking the first time in the program's history that
Butler has been to the playoffs four straight years.
"We made it my sophomore, junior and senior seasons, but not when I was a
freshman,"Mohney recalled.
Mohney had plenty to do with Butler's soccer success back then. He set Tornado
scoring records of 37 goals in a season and 63 in a career that still stand
today.
As a head coach, Mohney is 44-14-6 overall, including 35-7-2 in his first two
seasons.
"Troy believes in his players,"Butler assistant coach Ryan Bernardi
said. "He knows how to take the kids' skills and ability, and place them
in position to be successful."
Butler began the 2008 campaign 0-4-3, scoring only two total goals. The eighth
game of the season was against North Hills and Mohney moved Drew Donoghue from
defense to forward.
Donoghue assisted on two goals in the game's first 15 minutes and Butler took
off from there.
"Everybody was pressing too much, "Mohney recalled. "The quick
start in that North Hills game seemed to loosen everybody up."
Butler went 8-2-1 over the final 11 games to finish second in its section and
to extend the string of playoff appearances.
Now the Tornado are graduating seven seniors, including three of their top four
defenders and leading scorer Jake Gamble, who scored 20 of the team's 29 goals.
This year's junior varsity team won only two games, though it had many ties.
"Each year, it's up to the athletes,"Mohney said. "Sure, we're
losing some key people, but we're also returning six or seven starters. It's
all in how you look at it."
Besides being the most prolific scorer in Butler boys soccer history, Mohney
went on to lead St. Francis (Pa.) University in scoring his sophomore through
senior year.
"The players who are now here realize Troy could play this
game,"Bernardi said. "Troy has their respect that way. They believe
in him. It's a mutual trust kind of thing."
Mohney, who also coaches for the Northern Steel Select Soccer Club and is
general manager of Family Sports Center, is happy to be coaching for his alma
mater.
"I'm very blessed to be able to coach this team,"he said. "My
family still lives here, my wife's family still lives here, my full-time job is
just three miles from my house."