Late coaching legend's life, career celebrated at Carlynton game

Coaching Carlynton basketball was a family affair for Richard Sonson.

His wife, Peg, always was in attendance, while his two boys, Craig and Richard Jr., grew up in the gymnasium — following his every move — and ultimately assisted him in coaching. Even his parents were there when they were alive.

Every player he ever coached also was a member of his family.

“They weren’t just his students. He’d have the team over, and my mother would cook them dinner,” Craig said, recalling memories of his father, who coached Carlynton basketball for nearly 30 years.

Richard Sonson, an earth science teacher at Carlynton for three decades, led the Carlynton boys basketball team to a state championship victory in 1992 and a WPIAL championship in 1988.

Sonson, who died at the age of 73 in late November, was honored Jan. 24 at a Carlynton basketball game. More than 25 former players came together to honor the longtime coach.

“I just thought it was the right thing to do,” athletic director Nate Milsom said of organizing the recognition, where family members were presented with a plaque. “Any time you can win a state championship, I think you need to celebrate that as much as you can.”

Sonson, who served in the U.S. Navy from 1965 to 1969 during the Vietnam War, was a well known coach at Carlynton. He also coached boys baseball for 30 years and served as an assistant football coach and golf coach for many years.

Sonson was the kind of coach who always came prepared. He reviewed tapes late at night and would show up the morning after a game ready to lead the team to their next victory, former players agreed.

“He made sure all the details were covered. There was never a loose end where you would go in and anything was unprepared,” Richard Jr. said.

Sonson was an old school coach, with a rough voice, who gave his all to coaching.

“The two words that I think of are ‘dedicated’ and ‘passionate,’” said Jake Trombetta, a 1993 Carlynton graduate, who played for three years under Sonson. “Friday nights coaching basketball at Carlynton was Mr. Sonson’s element.”

Sonson structured practices so that not only the team would succeed, but each individual player would reach their highest potential, Craig said.

“He got out of every kid what he possibly could get out of them,” he said.

No matter a student’s socio-economic status, Sonson always made sure every student was treated the same.

He saw basketball as more than just a sport. It was a way to teach kids about life.

“My dad didn’t care whether you were the star player or the last guy off the bench, he treated you like an integral part of the team,” Craig said.

“He always tried to instill being a good person, not just a good player,” Peg said.

Winning the state championship in 1992 was the “crown jewel” of his career, Craig said. But every student, from every team that ever played for him mattered equally to him.

“I think he might have been more excited than us,” Trombetta said of the year the team won the state championship.

Sonson was screaming so loud that he lost his voice, Peg said.

“He was so proud of that,” she said.

To this day, a sign still hangs in Crafton in front of the park recognizing that state championship, she said. Every time they would drive past, they’d make sure to point out the sign and remember the win.

Sonson led the boys basketball team at Carlynton to the state tournament 13 times — 11 of those were consecutive. The team made it to the state championship game twice.

A fond memory, Craig said, is in his early years as an assistant basketball coach at Carlynton when Bill Cowher was on the team.

Every memory comes with a story.

When Sonson was out to eat, he always ran into former players who took trips with him down memory lane, Peg said. Sonson went on to serve as the head boys basketball coach at Canon McMillan, assistant boys basketball coach at Chartiers-Houston and rounded out his career with two years as the assistant men’s basketball coach at Washington & Jefferson.

He was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame Washington-Greene Chapter in 2005 and the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Hall of Fame in 2010.

On Jan. 24, as players from across the decades gathered to honor Sonson, the memories flowed. The group gathered at Primanti Brothers after the ceremony to fondly recall all of their times with Sonson.

While he was rough on the edges, at times, Peg said, she hopes everyone remembers just how caring he truly was.

To this day, all of those players are family.

“If you played Carlynton basketball, you were part of the family,” Richard Jr. said.