After coaching high school sports for over 30 years, Ed Danel is in his fifth season as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Pitt-Johnstown. Danel also took over the men’s golf head coaching position in 2017.
As an assistant under Head Coach Mike Drahos, Danel assists with practice and game preparation, on-court instruction, weight-training, film review, and recruiting.
Danel began his career as the head boys’ basketball coach at Meyersdale Area High School from 1979-83, before becoming a graduate-assistant men’s basketball coach at West Liberty State (WV) College in 1983.
He then served as the head baseball coach at Meyersdale Area High School from 1983 to 1997 where he posted a 161-75 overall record and guided teams to a District 5 Championship in 1993 and eight conference titles.
Danel was also the head boys’ basketball coach at Forest Hill High School from 1984-1987, before becoming an assistant boys’ basketball coach at Somerset Area High School from 1987-1990.
From 2000 through 2010, Danel was the head girls’ basketball coach at North Star High School where he finished with a 181-73 overall record, four District 5 championships, and two West PAC titles. Following 2009-10 season, he team ranked fifth in final Harrisburg Patriot News PIAA Class AA rankings.
He earned an Associate Degree in Elementary Education at Garrett (MD) Community College in 1977, before earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education at York College in 1979.
Danel, who spent 35 years teaching in the Meyersdale Area School District, retired after the 2014-15 school year. In the summer of 2018, he served as the Outside Operations Manager at Johnstown's Sunnehanna Country cClub.
He and his wife Kathy reside in Richland Township. The Danels have two daughters, Brittany, a teacher at Portage Area High School, and Chelsea, an assistant women’s basketball coach and golf coach at Hood College, and a grandson, Lucas.
