Baseball head coach George Valesente is not too old to do a lot of things. Sixty-three is the perfect age to enjoy your grandkids, stump for the AARP or break a hip in the bathtub.

But coach collegiate baseball?  That’s what makes Valesente something of an atypical older gentleman.

Valesente, originally from Seneca Falls, N.Y., has been the head baseball coach at Ithaca College since “My Sharona” was a No. 1 hit. Entering his 30th year at the helm, he is one of the longest tenured employees at IC. It’s something that comes as a shock to even him.

“I didn’t remember until you reminded me,” he said. “It’s hard to believe.”

Valesente is more Ithaca College than Prospect Day. He went to school here when the college was still downtown and was a baseball star back when IC was still Division I. He even played in the first basketball game in the Hill Center.

“There was some conversation about who was going to score the first basket,” he said with a smile. “It wasn’t me.”

Following graduation in 1966, he played AAA ball in the Washington Senators farm system before settling down at Freeman Field for what has turned out to be a nice, long stay.

In his 30 years, “Coach Val” has won two national championships, two national Coach of the Year awards and 885 games. But most of all, he’s molded countless 18-year olds into graduating men.

Jeremy Peters is one of them. The physical therapy graduate student played under Valesente for three years.

“He’s one of the most influential people in my life,” he said.

And when asked about playing for a guy eligible for social security, Peters laughed and remembered a story about a bus ride to a game.

“Coach Val turned around and yelled, ‘Everyone turn off your dingpods.’” he said. “Other than that, he’s still a 30-year old at heart.”

Valesente has shunned the retired life in Boca Raton, instead choosing the frosty winters of Ithaca, where it’s been known to snow in the middle of April.  

Every day he’s out there working with pitchers in the bullpen, throwing batting practice, hitting fungoes and doing everything else to make sure his team remains one of the most successful in all of college baseball.

“It’s a combination of discipline and love,” Valesente said. “Nothing is more satisfying than seeing a team develop a personality and see their focus be on the outcome of the game relative to Ithaca College.”  

It’s a mantra that’s bred 30 years of excellence.  And no one would be opposed to 30 more.