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Parroccini back as girls tennis coach

In what could prove to be a pivotal year for the Warren girls tennis team, the Lady Dragons will have a new head coach, albeit one who has been in this role before.

John Parroccini retakes the reigns atop the girls tennis program after a two year hiatus. He takes over for Jon Meyer who had a record of 9-13 during his two seasons at Warren.

“I’m very excited about returning to coaching with the Lady Dragons in the fall,” Parroccini said.

Parroccini had previously been the girls assistant coach under Jeff Bartsch in 2014 and 2015, before he took over as head coach in 2016. He also served as the boys assistant coach from 2017-2018. In his previous season as girls head coach, Parroccini guided the Lady Dragons to a 4-8 record.

Not only does Parroccini face the tough task of replacing six seniors, including Region 3 first-team all-star Gracie Wood and regular starters Emily Grimm, Taylor Lester and Ceci Citro, but he could be taking over a program on probation as well.

As of Monday, the Lady Dragons had 11 players signed up for this season. If the Warren County School District Board of Directors decides to stick with a proposed numbers chart, Warren would play this season on probation. The Dragons would need to have at least 12 players registered by this time next year or the program could be cut.

Parroccini won’t be alone through this process. His daughter, Kimberleigh, has signed on as a volunteer assistant coach.

“Kim and I have been working with a number of talented players over the past few years who are excited about playing varsity tennis,” John said.

A former Warren tennis standout herself, Kimberleigh just finished her NCAA Division III career at Lycoming College where she played both doubles and singles and was team captain for two years.

“I’m very excited about returning to coaching with the Lady Dragons in the fall and I’m excited to coach such a wonderful group of young women,” she said. “My dad has been my coach since I was 10 so it will be great to work alongside of him.”

The father-daughter coaching duo has also enlisted the help of longtime Warren tennis coach Jeff Bartsch to conduct clinics throughout the summer as they prepare for the fall season.

“(We) will be conducing free tennis clinics every Sunday at Betts Park,” Kimberleigh said. “It’s a great opportunity to come out and discover this great game.”

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