Tranchina to Retire From Helm of Westfield Athletics

Longtime Westield High School athletic director Ed Tranchina, who will retire June
30, has seen many changes in his 17 years on the job.   

Tranchina will turn 60 on May 30 and said he felt it was time to step aside last fall.

He has been part of the Westfield community since 1985. He had two stints of nine years apiece as the varsity football coach among his roles. He took over for late Westfield legend Gary Kehler as athletic director in 1993.   

The Board of Education is scheduled to formally accept Tranchina's retirement during a meeting at 8 p.m. this evening at Board of Education headquarters. It is not known how his position will be filled after his retirement.

Westfield has 26 varsity sports to supervise along with junior varsity and freshman
teams. More than 80 coaches make up the staff. Go to any Westfield event on its grounds and you will see Tranchina. He has put in countless days dedicated to the Blue Devils.   

"I've been fortunate to have great coaches,'' said Tranchina, the father of three children who were standout athletes at Piscataway High. "I've hired people like Glen Kurz (wrestling), Caitlin MacDonald (softball) and Jim DiSarno (football). I think we've hired some very good coaches.''   

The school has added sports like varsity and junior varsity ice hockey and freshmen
girls lacrosse sine he's become athletic director. Tranchina has also been very active
in the forming of the new Union County Interscholastic Athletic Association Conference.

Among the standouts he coached in football was quarterback Dave Brown, who went on to play at Duke University and the NFL Giants.   

Tranchina grew up in Long Island, graduating from Franklin Square high where he was a three-sport athlete. He went on to play four years of varsity football at Central
Connecticut State University and went on to earn a Masters Degree in Health Education from Adelphi University in Long Island and began a teaching career at East Rockaway High School in East Rockaway New York.

His first stop in New Jersey was at Jonathan Dayton High School in Springfield in 1978, then Cranford before coming to Westfield.