Allen Hudson still remembers the moment Jon Dolecki changed the way Hudson saw himself as an athlete. As a shy ninth-grader, he played on Glen Cove High School’s junior varsity basketball team — one of two sports, along with baseball, that Dolecki coached.
On the court, Hudson struggled to assert himself. “He pulled me to the side and said, ‘Why aren’t you shooting the ball? You’re here for a reason,’” Hudson said of Dolecki. “That changed everything for me. He had that ability to push you just enough so you’d believe in yourself.” It was this mix of toughness and encouragement that, by all accounts, made Dolecki beloved and respected at the high school, an unforgettable coach and mentor as well as an educator.
Dolecki died on Feb. 18, at age 77. He suffered a heart attack at Glen Cove Hospital, following a recent battle with pneumonia and early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
Over his 34-year tenure as Glen Cove’s varsity baseball coach, he led the team to 532 wins and the school’s only state championship, in 1986. But for Dolecki, coaching was about pushing young athletes to be better not just in sports, but also in life. “He was tough, but loving, demanding,” Hudson, who’s now Glen Cove High’s principal, said. “He was your typical old-school coach, but it worked. You could tell that he liked you. He enjoyed what he did.”
Dolecki’s legacy as a coach is reflected in the lives of the players he mentored. “I learned so much about life from him,” said former player Adelki Paulino, who graduated in 1999 and later became Dolecki’s assistant coach. “A lot of my coaching values I’ve learned from him. He expected a lot of us, but he was preparing us for life.” Paulino, now a New York City teacher and coach, credits Dolecki’s influence for his approach to coaching today.
Born and raised in Bergen County, New Jersey, Dolecki graduated from Cliffside Park High School in 1965. A talented right-handed pitcher, he played collegiate baseball at Appalachian State University, in Boone, North Carolina, in the ‘60s.
Dolecki accepted a teaching position at Glen Cove High in 1971. “He got hired late in the summer, almost in September, and I thought he would just stay for a year,” his widow, Irene Dolecki, said. “But he liked it so much that he stayed his entire life there.” The couple moved permanently to Glen Cove in 1978, and lived just a block from the high school.
Jon’s coaching career began in 1976, when he became the varsity baseball coach. Over the years, he guided the team to six county finals, and championships in 1985, 1986 and 1987. The 1986 squad finished with a 29-5 record and won the state Class B title in dramatic fashion. The game was sealed with a walk-off home run by Desi Wilson, who went on to play for the San Francisco Giants in 1996.
“He coached big leaguers like Wilson and Craig Hansen” — who later played for the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates — “but to him, every player was important,” Paulino said of Dolecki.
Dolecki also coached basketball, leading the varsity team to 163 wins over 15 seasons.
Off the field and court, he made sure that students did well in their classes, frequently chatting with teachers and making weekly reports with them on his athletes’ classroom performance.
“He wanted his kids to succeed, to graduate,” Irene Dolecki said. “One of his players even told my son, ‘If it wasn’t for your father, I would have never gone to college. He made sure I did everything to get there.’”
Dolecki’s commitment to his players extended beyond school hours. “My dad used to give kids rides home from school, and did all these fundraisers,” his son, Jamie, recalled. “Our door was always open. Players and parents were always showing up, and my dad always gave them the time of day.”
Brian Corbo, a Nassau County police officer, played baseball and basketball for Dolecki. As a freshman, Corbo initially tried out for third base, but it was Dolecki who saw his potential as a pitcher. “He saw what was best for me, and that moment changed everything,” Corbo recounted. “He sought me out during tryouts and told me I should try pitching. At first I wasn’t sure, but he believed in me more than I did in myself.”
When Corbo became a baseball coach at Adelphi University, Dolecki often checked in with him, offering guidance and encouragement. “He taught us how to win, but it wasn’t just about winning on the field,” Corbo said. “He taught us how to win in life.”
Their roles reversed later in life, and Corbo became the pitching coach at the Merchant Marine Academy, and Corbo had the unique opportunity to advise him. “It was surreal,” Corbo said. “The man who had coached me and shaped my career was now asking me for guidance on coaching at the collegiate level. It was a full-circle moment.”
Dolecki’s contributions to Glen Cove were formally recognized in 2009, when he was inducted into the high school’s Hall of Fame. This spring, the school’s baseball field will be renamed in his honor. The dedication was initially planned as a surprise, with his former players gathering to celebrate his legacy.
“The saddest thing is that he doesn’t even get to see this field dedication,” longtime family friend Louis Fugazy said. “He really cared about every kid he coached. He was just a great guy. It’s a sad week.”
Dolecki is survived by his wife, Irene; Jamie and another son, Justin; a daughter, Katherine and a grandson, Rylan.
“He loved what he did,” Jamie said. “He used to say, ‘I have the best job in the world.’ And he truly did love going to work every single day. That’s something special.”
