After "agonizing" over the decision for months, Guy Montecalvo has ended his WPIAL football coaching career.

Montecalvo, who is 12th on the WPIAL all-time list for wins, has retired as Canon-McMillan's coach after seven seasons there and the previous 23 at Washington. His record was 225-107-2 and he won two WPIAL titles at Washington and one PIAA championship.

"The best thing for me to say is that I think I just don't have the same passion for coaching at this moment," said Montecalvo, 54.

He will continue to work as Canon-McMillan's athletic director.

"There are so many factors that have gone into this, and I still don't know if I'm doing the right thing," Montecalvo said.

He said he hasn't had the same desire to coach since his oldest son, Jim, died in 2008 at age 26 after a lengthy illness.

"Only people who've been through [the death of a child] know. I don't want to use that as an excuse, but every day is tough," Montecalvo said. "It doesn't affect your fire to coach. It affects your fire to exist. Almost all of us [Canon-McMillan coaches] didn't come back for the 2008 season, but I'm glad I did."

At Canon-McMillan, Montecalvo guided the Big Macs to the WPIAL playoffs four times and the 2004 team is the only one in school history to win a playoff game.

"There is no question what I'll miss the most is the relationship and affiliation on a daily basis with young people, and the brotherhood with my coaching staffs," he said.

Montecalvo said parents had nothing to do with his decision to retire, but said, "The biggest change I see today [in coaching] is the enabling parent. That's the parent who always feels their child needs to be defended, for whatever the reason. It's the parent who won't let their child stumble and fall at times, and who won't let their child be corrected. ... You have to let your kids sometimes suffer consequences. Sometimes, they learn from failure and grow from a form of failure."

First Published: April 21, 2010, 8:00 a.m.