Leslie named head coach

The 1985 Mooney grad will continue to coach the Cardinals baseball team.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- When Cardinal Mooney High boys basketball Scott Groves resigned in August, the Cardinals didn't have to look far for his replacement.
Mooney baseball coach Steve Leslie, who spent 14 years as an assistant boys basketball coach at the school, was hired as Groves' replacement Monday. Leslie will remain as the baseball coach.
"It's a great opportunity," Leslie said. "I'm looking to get Mooney back where it was. We've struggled the last few years, but there's a lot of potential.
"I'm really excited to get involved in basketball again."
Played and coached
Leslie, a 1985 Mooney High graduate, was a three-year letterman for the Cardinals' basketball team. He was an assistant under Roy Nard and Nick Bellino from 1986 to 2000. He served as Ursuline's boys basketball coach from 2000-2003, compiling a 26-39 record over that span, before leaving to become Mooney's baseball coach in 2003.
"After being out of it a couple years, I missed the coaching aspect of [basketball]," Leslie said. "I had a great time at Ursuline and I really appreciated them giving me the opportunity to be a head coach."
Groves, who took a job in Kentucky, compiled a 4-16 record in one year with the Cardinals. Before coming to Mooney, he led Bristol to a state tournament appearance in 2002.
Interested in job
"When the position opened up, I was definitely interested," Leslie said. "Having played there and having been an assistant there made the job really attractive."
Leslie, who works for the Mahoning County engineers, has a wife, Julie, and two children, Daniel (6) and Grace (10 months). His brother-in-law, Neal Kopp, is the football coach at Fitch.
"Steve is an experienced coach who truly lives the values and traditions that are integral to Cardinal Mooney High School," said Mooney's principal, Sister Jane Marie Kudlacz, HM.
scalzo@vindy.com