Shady Side Academy’s new Gene Deal Fields get rave reviews from namesake

By: George Guido
Sunday, October 16, 2022 | 11:01 AM

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Growing up in the Utica, N.Y. area, Gene Deal never dreamed he’d have athletic fields named in his honor.

But the new multi-purpose ballfields on the Shady Side Academy campus were scheduled to be dedicated the Gene Deal Fields on Oct. 14-15 as part of the school’s homecoming weekend.

Shady Side has transformed the lower grass athletic fields in a modern complex that will accommodate baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse and field hockey. The 154,000-square-foot field is one of the nation’s 10 largest continuous pieces of sports artificial turf.

After arriving at Shady Side Academy in 1982, Deal served as a coach and the athletic director from 1990 until his retirement at the end of the 2020-21 school year.

Deal was one of the driving forces behind the 1992 decision to rejoin the WPIAL after a 70-year absence.

“I have to give a lot of credit to the board of trustees and our president at the time, Peter Kountz and trustee Keith Ellis,” Deal recalled. “We spoke to a number of alumni and the students. It was a test and one of those ones where you really didn’t know how it would turn out.”

Shady Side was a member of the Interstate Prep League. Kountz sent out letters to all the private schools in Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio and West Virginia to gauge interest in starting a larger league. Only two schools responded, and Kountz told Deal it was time to take a look at the WPIAL.

“God bless Chuck Heberling, head of the WPIAL at the time,” Deal said. “He was the best. He helped me all along the way. He guided me and told me this is what to do and how to do it every step of the way. He really helped with that transition.”

Deal said the school joined the PIAA and the WPIAL subsequently for three reasons: consistency in scheduling, the female sports weren’t being served by the Independent Girls Athletic League and, thirdly, the desire to be part of the Pittsburgh community allowing the student-athletes to try for playoffs and championship games.

“I marvel to this day, it’s a wonderful thing at the way the WPIAL runs its championships and what a great job they do,” said Deal.

It didn’t take long for the school to celebrate a PIAA title, winning it all in boys basketball in 1995 and again in 2000. The first football title came along in 1998.

All told, in Deal’s tenure, Shady Side won 64 WPIAL titles in various sports and 18 PIAA titles in 15 sports.

“It was the perfect storm there in the initial time period. Our middle school was all male,” Deal said. “Peter Kountz had the middle school go co-ed, but we had a great run of male athletes before we were all co-ed. It was a great period. When we joined the WPIAL, our whole girls program went up and were just as strong.”

Several sports facilities have been renovated in the past several decades, along with the main schoolhouse buildings, some of which are 100 years old.

The president who followed Koutz, Tom Southard, wanted to get the academic facilities modernized first, with the athletic facilities to follow, particularly replacing the cinder track.

The new complex will have the Galliot Family Grandstand, seating 405, that is built into the hillside overlooking the field. The Howson Family Terrace will provide a viewing and gathering space.

The Killian Cavanaugh Memorial Baseball Field and the softball field will include dugouts, batting cages and bullpens. When not in use by Shady Side middle and senior school teams, the Gene Deal Fields will be available for rental by youth and community organizations.

The project has been funded with $2.2 million in private donations.

Said Deal: “Our president, Bart Griffith, has done a terrific job getting this thing going. Paul Francioni, Ray Battistel, the turf person from Aspinwall, and Benny Palumbo doing the underneath work have done a top-notch job. Nothing is easy these days getting the permits to start building. What a facility. We can convert it from softball and baseball into lacrosse in no time. That’s the great thing for the kids.”

Never one to toot his own horn or to dominate the scene, Deal was surprised when he got word the fields will bear his name.

“I just feel blessed, really humbled,” Deal said. “I know how lucky I am to have that sort of thing named after you.”

Today, Deal is the academy’s special engagements representative, travelling the country and meeting up with and keeping in touch with alumni.

Tags: Shady Side Academy