George Burich Recognition Night slated Dec. 19 at East

By John Kovach

The Campbell native, who died Nov. 3, coached at four city high schools.

YOUNGSTOWN — The George Burich Recognition Night will be held Dec.19 at the East High gym prior to the start of the Panthers’ boys basketball game against Chaney.

Burich, a native of Campbell who had the distinction of coaching four city high school basketball teams — North, Chaney, South and Wilson — died Nov. 3 at the age of 64 while vacationing with friends in Sarasota, Fla.

He was preparing to begin his second season as an assistant coach at East under coach Mark Cherol, who is organizing the recognition night with assistance from Ted Liszka, another of Burich’s coaching colleagues

Cherol and Liszka both will speak at the recognition.

“We encourage all of George’s former students and players and fellow coaches, friends and family to attend,” said Cherol, who also coached with Burich at Wilson and Chaney.

“We are we are going to honor him with a plaque that we are going to put in the East High trophy case,” said Cherol. “We are going to present the plaque to his wife, Diana, and daughter, Kristina.”

Cherol was an assistant under Burich at Wilson for eight years from 1994-2001, before moving up to coach when Burich retired from the city school system as a teacher and coach.

Cherol said Burich later went on to become an assistant at Kennedy Catholic High.

Earlier in Burich’s career he served as an assistant at Liberty High and for the Youngstown Pride under coach Bob Patton, another of Burich’s close friends who was with him when he died.

Patton now is retired from coaching and living in the Cleveland area.

Cherol recalled that Burich, a 1962 graduate of Campbell Memorial High, was “the kind of person who would get on his players to do their best, and he tried to get the best out players and was dedicated to his profession. He was a joy to be around coaching.”

Liszka, a 1972 Campbell Memorial graduate, also had his first basketball coaching job under Burich at North.

Liszka said North was Burich’s first coaching job, and that Liszka was recruited by Burich to be his assistant.

“He talked me into this one,” recalled Liszka. “He calls me up. I told him I was in the middle of coaching football [under Ed Rozum] at Campbell with three games left. And he said, ‘I don’t care, I want you.’ ”

Then, he remembered and half-joked about all the travel. “We played 18 games and none were at home.”

Liszka said that was the last year for North High, and that Burich then went to Chaney to coach, and Liszka followed as his assistant for the several years Burich was there.

“Then I went to Campbell and was an assistant [football coach] with Rozum,” said Liszka, now a volunteer assistant football coach for the Canfield Village Middle School seventh and eighth grade teams and the ninth grade Canfield High team.

For more information about the recognition night, call Cherol at (330) 726-1534 or (330) 519-6894, or Liszka at (330) 533-6079 or (330) 518-5209.

kovach@vindy.com