Gene Leporati, who has coached the Verona High School cross country team and its girls winter and spring track teams for a quarter century, will be inducted into the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in April. The group honors varsity coaches in the public, non-public and independent secondary schools of New Jersey.
The announcement was made at the Verona Board of Education meeting on Tuesday night.
Leporati is a soft-spoken coach who has preferred to keep the spotlight trained on his athletes, even though the teams that he has headed have toted up more than three dozen conference and state championships over his career. He has groomed students for success beyond VHS, and inspired some to become title-winning coaches in their own right. Sebastian Powell, who was the VHS boys track coach until early this past fall, had been one of Leporati’s proteges at VHS in 1992.
The NJSCA Hall of Fame award, which is being presented in cooperation with the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, will be handed out at a luncheon on Sunday, April 14. The event, which will be held at the Pines Manor in Edison, begins at noon and tickets are $50 per person. For tickets or additional information, contact Liz at the NJSIAA office at (609) 259-2776.
Way to go Mr. Lep!!!!!!!
Congrats, Lep!! Of all our coaches, he certainly deserves this.
I am so happy for and proud of Coach Lep, he definitely deserves such an award! He has been inspiring and supporting his athletes, leading them effectively, and maintaining a positive atmosphere on the track for many years. I am truly grateful for having Lep as my coach, he is truly a great man and coach! Congratulations Coach Lep!