For nearly two decades, John Pascarella was more than content with his role as an assistant coach on the Struthers High varsity football staff.

In fact, he enjoyed the role so much that he never even remotely considered seeking out a head coaching position, either at Struthers or elsewhere.

“I absolutely loved being part of those staffs, I loved the office talk, I loved soaking in everything I could from some of the greatest coaches in this game,” Pascarella said. “Every day was rewarding in some way, and every day was a learning experience.”

However, when John Bayuk stepped down as the Wildcats’ head coach earlier this month, Pascarella knew the time was right.

On Wednesday, Pascarella secured what he described as his “dream job” when the Struthers Board of Education hired him to take over the Wildcats football program.

Pascarella takes over a Struthers team which finished 9-3 this past year, but which loses 23 seniors. Bayuk stepped down following a five-year stint.

“I just felt like this was the right move at the right time,” Pascarella said. “Struthers is my home, it’s home for my children and my granddaughter. If I’m not coaching at Struthers, I’m not coaching at all. This is the only job for me. I love this program and this community.”

A native of Youngstown’s west side, Pascarella graduated from Ursuline in 1999 then attended Hiram College, where he majored in education while playing football.

While he was student-teaching, Terriers coach Mike Meyer invited Pascarella to join his staff as a graduate assistant.

“I met some amazing coaches while at Hiram, they really influenced my decision to get into coaching,” Pascarella said. “I was so focused on becoming an educator and Coach Meyer came to me and said, ‘You know, coaching and teaching go hand in hand, in many ways they are one in the same.’

“At his urging I gave it a shot and I immediately knew that both coaching and teaching were going to be my lifelong passion.”

Pascarella began his high school coaching career at Howland under Dick Angle. He was hired by the Struthers City School District in 2008 as a language arts teacher and served as a Struthers assistant coach for one year under Dallas Saunders. He rejoined the staff when Curt Kuntz took over the program in 2012, and has since been a part of the program.

“For the past thirteen years I’ve served under two great coaches here at Struthers, and I’ve worked with a bunch of hall of fame coaches my whole career,” Pascarella said. “Curt Kuntz and John Bayuk are great friends, they are great coaches and human beings.

“With all the coaches I’ve been around, it’s always been about putting the kids first in everything they did. Teaching the X’s and O’s are important, but it’s always been about creating relationships. It’s about life lessons. And it has always been about having fun and making memories. I don’t want that to change.”

Kuntz first met Pascarella when the two were on the Howland staff in 2007. Kuntz noted that he immediately sensed that Pascarella was destined to evolve into a successful coach and a leader of those he taught.

“Kids don’t care what you know until they know how much you care,” Kuntz said. “With John, it was immediately clear that he was in this for all the right reasons. He truly cares about his students and his players. All of his decisions are going to be based around what is best for them.

“As soon as John got the job, I was receiving texts from former players, expressing how excited they were, how happy they were for him. That’s a true testament to the impact John has on his players.

Kuntz referred to Pascarella as “Mr. Struthers,” saying Pascarella became a fixture in the community soon after he was hired by the Struthers School District.

“From day one, he emerged himself in all things Struthers,” Kuntz said. “John’s home was always the hub of town. His home was always a resemblance of what communities used to be like back in the day.”

Pascarella and his wife Nicole have three sons. Hunter and Christian graduated from Struthers. Christian currently attends Westminster, where he plays football. Ashton is a freshman at Struthers and is a member of the Wildcats’ football team.

Pascarella is a teacher at Struthers Middle School.