National Football Foundation

East Region
 
There is no higher calling than impacting the life of a young person, and Tony Cocca has done it in multiple roles for four decades, first as a coach in the Lehigh Valley and subsequently as a key leader in the NFF Chapter Network.
 
“The game of football got me a great education and has given me a tremendous career,” said Cocca. “Being an NFF member allows me to give back to this great game. Our Lehigh Valley Chapter is great, and I just happen to be part of the leadership group who helps keep this tremendous game at the forefront in this part of Pennsylvania.”
 
Established in 1961, the NFF Lehigh Valley Chapter annually honors the top scholar-athletes from 34 high schools and six colleges and universities in the region. Cocca joined the outpost in 1993, taking over the presidency five years ago, and the chapter has thrived under his leadership.
 
To recognize the honorees, the chapter stages a scholar-athlete banquet each spring while also using the platform for inducting the local greats into its prestigious regional Hall of Fame. Previous gridiron greats who have been inducted include College Football Hall of Famers Lou Michaels (Kentucky), Dennis Onkotz (Penn State) and Chuck Bednarik (Penn) who all played locally during their high school days.
 
Cocca’s love of football began as a three-year letterman at Whitehall High School in the Lehigh Valley during the late 1960s. After graduating in 1968, he entered nearby Kutztown University, playing two more seasons before an injury cut his career short.
 
After graduating from college, he began a 35-year run as a coach in the Lehigh Valley region, first as an assistant football and track coach for eight years at Whitehall. He then spent eight years at Muhlenberg College as a defensive line coach and assistant track coach before returning to Whitehall in 1993 as the head coach for the football and softball teams. In nine seasons, his Whitehall football teams claimed the 1997 District 11 Championship as well as a league crown and two conference titles. Cocca’s coaching tenure in the region also included stints at Moravian University, Northampton Community College and Nazareth High School.
 
He retired from the sidelines after the 2019 season. With a reputation for being humble and affable, Cocca attributes his coaching success to his players.
 
“I got so much out of helping kids it was just a great learning experience,” said Cocca at the time of his retirement during an WFMZ-TV interview. “I tried to help the kids understand that sports is just another step in life, and 99% of my kids went on to good lives and they’re good parents today. They call me up and they tell me: ‘Coach, you don’t know what it meant to me to have you as a mentor.’ That’s the kind of stuff that makes me feel good… The athlete makes the coach. The coach doesn’t make the athlete.”
 
Cocca has also worked locally as a sports broadcaster and ran the Whitehall Township Recreation Department. In 2007, he opened College Assistance Plus of the Valley, which helps students and their parents apply for college financial aid. Cocca lives in Whitehall with his wife, Monica. They have three sons, Brian, John and Michael, and five grandchildren.