Truman coach Mike LaPalombara has close bond with assistants

Mike LaPalombara was going to take his first head-coaching job only if his close friends and former colleagues would come along for the ride.

And that's what happened when Truman, where LaPalombara has been a teacher for the last 25 years, needed a new boss after Jon Craig stepped down following last season.

LaPalombara, who had been an offensive line coach at Bucks County neighbor and Suburban One League National Conference rival Pennsbury for more than a decade, reached out to those he knew and respected the most.

At the top of the list were Galen Snyder, Dave Sanderson, and Jeff Arndt. LaPalombara, 57, had coached with all three at Pennsbury.

"We talked things over," LaPalombara said. "It just seemed like it was a good time for us to jump in there and do it together."

Snyder was Pennsbury's head coach from 2002 to 2015; Sanderson had been the program's offensive coordinator; and Arndt, who played quarterback at Pennsbury in the mid-1990s, coached the Falcons' skill-position players the last two years.

The start to the reunion went especially well as visiting Truman, displaying considerable overall speed, hammered Methacton, 48-0, Friday night in the season opener for both squads.

When Snyder guided Truman from 1998 to 2001, LaPalombara was one of his assistants.

"He helped me out for all those years, so I figured this was the least I could do to pay him back," Snyder said with a laugh.

In 14 seasons at Pennsbury, where he used a ground-and-pound offense, Snyder compiled a 116-48 record, won four National Conference titles, and earned two PIAA District 1 Class 4A crowns (2006 and 2014).

Snyder stepped down as Pennsbury's boss after his son Luke's final season with the team. Luke, an Inquirer second-team all-Southeastern Pennsylvania pick at linebacker in 2015, is now playing at Kutztown.

"I wanted to continue to watch him play in college, and I knew I couldn't do that while also doing all the things you have to do as a head coach," Galen Snyder said.

Snyder is Truman's defensive coordinator and offensive line coach; Sanderson is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; and Arndt coaches the wide receivers and defensive backs.

"I'm lucky to have these guys with me," LaPalombara said. "There's a lot of coaching experience here. The players, hopefully, will benefit from that."

Sanderson was an assistant at Pennsbury from 2011 to 2014. He was head coach at Martin Luther King, of Philadelphia's Public League, for five seasons, William Tennent for three, and Hatboro-Horsham for eight.

"It's been a blast," Sanderson said of being back with LaPalombara, Snyder and company. "We're having fun."

Another ex-Pennsbury coach now at Truman, which went 3-7 overall and 2-4 in the National Conference last season, is Keith Rieser. A standout ballcarrier for Cardinal Dougherty's 1982 Catholic League championship squad, he is the running backs coach.

Rieser served as offensive coordinator under Sanderson at Tennent and H-H. "He's a really good friend of mine," Sanderson said. "He's been integral to my success over the years."

Truman also has up-and-coming assistants in Kevin Schafer and Mike Ortman. Ortman is the son of Mike Ortman, who was the longtime head coach at the old Council Rock and directed Council Rock North for five years.

LaPalombara's outlook for this season? "We're hoping we can be competitive enough in league play to qualify for the playoffs," the Levittown resident said.