Jon Dolecki, longtime baseball and basketball coach at Glen Cove, dies at 77

Jon Dolecki of Glen Cove was a coach who represented more than the wins and losses. The Glen Cove High School baseball and basketball coach was more about life lessons and teaching his players to be role models in school and in the community.

The winning, well that came naturally for Dolecki, who guided the baseball team to 532 wins over 34 years and the high school’s only state championship in 1986.

Jon Dolecki died after suffering a heart attack Tuesday morning at Glen Cove Hospital. His son Jamie Dolecki said his father had battled with the early stages of Alzheimer’s and a recent bout of pneumonia before he was taken to the hospital Tuesday. He was 77.

“He was a great father and did everything for his kids,” Jamie Dolecki said. “He’d drop whatever he was doing to throw me batting practice and drive me all over the place to play ball. He was an exceptionally loyal guy and well-respected. He was fair and tough on his players.”

Dolecki was all about baseball. He grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey and attended Cliffside Park High School, graduating in 1965. He was an outstanding right-handed pitcher who played at Appalachian State and graduated in 1969.

Life moved quickly for Dolecki. He started teaching industrial arts in 1971 at Glen Cove High School and enjoyed a 36-year career in the classroom. He also taught architectural drawing, wood shop, metals and ceramics.

He married his sweetheart Irene Garibaldi of Hudson County, New Jersey in 1972. They were married for 52 years and had three children.

“We had a wonderful life together,” Irene Dolecki said. “He loved his family, baseball and golf. And he cared deeply for all his players. This man worked in a very diverse district. He dealt with every nationality and never had a problem. The players loved him.”

Dolecki balanced teaching and his commitment to serve in the National Guard for six years from 1970-1976 in Teaneck.

He became the varsity baseball coach at Glen Cove in 1976. He led the Big Red to the Nassau County finals six times, winning titles in 1985, 1986 and 1987. His 1986 team had a record of 29-5 and won the New York State Class B title, defeating Warwick of Hudson Valley, 5-4, on Desi Wilson’s walk-off home run.

“He was so proud of that team and the accomplishment,” Jamie Dolecki said. “He had expectations of excellence and how the little things counted. As an in-game manager he was one of the very best out there.”

Dolecki coached big leaguers Wilson and Craig Hansen. Wilson played a year for the San Francisco Giants and Hansen played five years, including three with the Boston Red Sox.

Adelki Paulino of Dix Hills played for Dolecki and had the opportunity to coach alongside him in 1999.

“I played for Coach Dolecki since I was 10 years old in the Glen Cove Little League,” Paulino said. “He was like a second dad to me. It wasn’t just baseball, it was about life with him. He emphasized being a good student and to be kind to people. At every pre-season meeting he spoke about being good citizens and role models.”

Dolecki also won 163 varsity basketball games in 15 years. He retired from teaching in 2007. He was always big on the camaraderie of fundraisers to help his team travel to Florida during the winter recess.

“He was one of the first high school teams to play at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando,” Irene Dolecki said. “He played there before the Atlanta Braves took the complex over. He and North Shore coach Mike Metzger would have the boys sell Christmas Trees to offset the cost.”

Dolecki was also an avid golfer and would often travel in groups of 16 for long weekends on the fairways.

“He played with his three closest buddies, Sal Travatello, Jimmy Brennan and Joe Polizzi,” she said. “They’d go away on golf weekends all over.”

He is survived by his two sons Justin Dolecki of Santa Barbara, California, and Jamie Dolecki (Gina) of Fairfield, Connecticut, and a daughter Katherine Dolecki-Payton (Josh) of Brooklyn. He has a grandson Rylan Dolecki of Fairfield, Ct. Viewing is from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday at the McLaughlin Kramer Funeral Home, 220 Glen Cove Street, Glen Cove. A service will be held at St. Patrick’s Church, Glen Cove at 10 a.m. Saturday.