At
Ambridge High School, Mark Jula was a fullback, linebacker, and
defensive back in football, a point guard in basketball, and a
pitcher and infielder in baseball. Mark lettered three times in
basketball at Juniata College, and after graduation began his long
and distinguished coaching career. His first job was as a teacher
and head hoops coach at Solanco High School in Lancaster County,
where he coached five years and made the playoffs three times. He
spent the next two seasons at Boyertown High School, then moved back
to western Pennsylvania and coached four seasons at Moon Area High
School, where he made three playoffs and advanced to the WPIAL final
in 1987 and set a school record with a 23-6 season. Mark coached at
Butler High School from 1987 to 1993, and in 1991 the Tornados won
their first WPIAL title since 1915, setting a school record with a
27-4 season. Mark compiled a 134-34 record in his tenure at Butler,
then he moved on to North Allegheny, where he led his team to the
playoffs five of eight seasons, making the WPIAL
championship game in 1995 and 1999 (the first two times the school
ever played in a WPIAL title game). Mark went to Center High School
in 2003, and the Trojans made the playoffs in his first three years
there. Overall, in Mark’s first 21 seasons of coaching WPIAL teams,
he made district playoffs 18 times and state playoffs 14 times. Mark
said about his induction into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame:
“It’s humbling because, when I look at some of the coaches who’ve
already been inducted, I see many of the guys who coached me when I
was a kid, guys like
Vic Bianchi,
Frank Marocco, and
Ed Gratty.
Never did I dream I’d be with them some day in the Hall of Fame.”
At
Ambridge High School, Mark Jula was a fullback, linebacker, and
defensive back in football, a point guard in basketball, and a
pitcher and infielder in baseball. Mark lettered three times in
basketball at Juniata College, and after graduation began his long
and distinguished coaching career. His first job was as a teacher
and head hoops coach at Solanco High School in Lancaster County,
where he coached five years and made the playoffs three times. He
spent the next two seasons at Boyertown High School, then moved back
to western Pennsylvania and coached four seasons at Moon Area High
School, where he made three playoffs and advanced to the WPIAL final
in 1987 and set a school record with a 23-6 season. Mark coached at
Butler High School from 1987 to 1993, and in 1991 the Tornados won
their first WPIAL title since 1915, setting a school record with a
27-4 season. Mark compiled a 134-34 record in his tenure at Butler,
then he moved on to North Allegheny, where he led his team to the
playoffs five of eight seasons, making the WPIAL
championship game in 1995 and 1999 (the first two times the school
ever played in a WPIAL title game). Mark went to Center High School
in 2003, and the Trojans made the playoffs in his first three years
there. Overall, in Mark’s first 21 seasons of coaching WPIAL teams,
he made district playoffs 18 times and state playoffs 14 times. Mark
said about his induction into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame:
“It’s humbling because, when I look at some of the coaches who’ve
already been inducted, I see many of the guys who coached me when I
was a kid, guys like