By Joseph Staszewski
Longtime Holy Cross boy’s basketball coach Paul Gilvary has been put on administrative leave by the school, he confirmed to the TimesLedger Newspapers. He is currently not coaching the school’s varsity team.
“I am currently an employee of Holy Cross High School on paid administrative leave,” Gilvary said. “As a currently employee I am not at liberty to make any comments about my employment, but I do look forward in the future to be able to talk to you about it.”
Gilvary, the school’s director of admissions, declined further comment and the school has yet to release a reason for the decision. He is a prominent figure in the Catholic High School Athletic Association. He is the chairman of the boy’s soccer and boy’s basketball leagues. Gilvary, wearing a Holy Cross jacket, was at St. John’s University Saturday night for the CHSAA boy’s soccer Class AA semifinals doubleheader. The Daily News first reported the story.
Assistant varsity coach Lloyd Desvigne confirmed that Gilvary, who has coached the Knights varsity team for 16 years, has not been with the squad since Nov. 10. Gilvary is coming off a season in which he helped lead Holy Cross to the CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens title for the first time since 2007 and a trip to the CHSAA Class AA city title game, where it fell to St. Raymond.
Gilvay, according to Desvigne has taken the situation hard.
“I spoke to Paul several times,” he said. “He is very frustrated, annoyed, you name it. That’s all he relayed to me.”
Desvigne said he and fellow assistant Robert Offley were running practices and scrimmages until Thursday when Offley told him that new freshman coach Tommy Marchesini was named the varsity coach. Marchesini, a former JV head coach and varsity assistant at St. Francis Prep and a Holy Cross alum, denied this claim. As said as of right now he said, “I am the freshman coach.”
Despite the uncertainties and lack of details Desvigne has faith that the school is acting in a way it believes is right.
“I have to feel that that powers at be at the school are doing whatever they can in the best interest of the kids, coaches and the school,” Desvigne said.
Reach reporter Joseph Staszewski at jstaszewski@cnglocal.com. Follow him on twitter @cng_staszewski.
