Neighbor Spotlight: Penn Hills cheerleader coach has lived a life worthy of a book

Editor’s note: Neighbor Spotlight is a monthly feature that aims to let our readers learn more about the people in their communities who are working to make them a better place, who have interesting stories to tell or who the community feels deserve “15 minutes of fame.” If you would like to nominate someone as a Neighbor Spotlight, see pennhillsprogress.com, select the “Post Story” button in the upper right corner, click the “New Article” button and complete the form to publish your nomination. Questions? Email Neighborhood News Network editor Katie Green at kgreen@triblive.com.

Lisa Coffey is a businesswoman, mother of three sons, coach of hundreds of young women and can add another title to her life’s resume — author.

The Pittsburgh Public School product and head of Penn Hills High School cheerleading for the past 11 years has penned “iDid and uCan 2,” a paperback self-published story about her life packed with trials and triumphs.

Two of the many messages in the text includes having forgiveness for yourself and others and finding a passion.

“I want to share that story with others because I’m sure there’s somebody who can relate to some of the things that I’ve been through,” Coffey, 55, said.

The book also serves as somewhat of a blueprint to live a purposeful and successful life.

It was written within the past year to share knowledge and to pass the time during the pandemic.

Coffey found inspiration to put pen to paper because, like many others, covid caused her usual routine to be disrupted by the various shutdowns and ever-changing safety protocols.

Early life

Coffey was raised by John and Mary Coffey, a steelworker and a stay-at-home mom, in Pittsburgh’s West End in the Greenway Park apartments off Crucible Street.

Mary Coffey launched a cleaning business after John Coffey lost his job when the steel industry collapsed. That company has since grown into a multimillion-dollar company called All Purpose Cleaning Services Inc.

A young Lisa Coffey fell in love with cheerleading while attending Catholic school before enrolling in the city’s Langley High School, where she graduated in 1983.

“All of my life, I was really a tomboy up until about sixth grade,” she said. “I put down my softball glove and put all that stuff down and morphed into a cheerleader. I cheered through middle school, junior high, high school and in college. After moving to Penn Hills, I started coaching.”

Coffey would study nursing, computer science and pre-law at Duquesne University before dropping out because of a pregnancy. She attempted to raise three sons with their father, Steffon Salter Sr.

The marriage crumbled as the man would have legal problems and end up in jail, she said.

Coffey talks about the struggles of being a single parent and delves deeper into the troubled relationship in her book.

“I quit college,” she explained. “I became a young mom at 20. I got married at 25 (and) had more kids. Went through a rough marriage, ended up divorcing, and I didn’t go back to college until 25 years later.”

She and her family moved to Penn Hills in 1991.

Family focus

All three boys — Steffon, Saffeon and Savon — graduated from Penn Hills and were involved in multiple sports.

“When I moved to Penn Hills, I was determined,” Coffey said. “I’m raising African American boys, and they’re already products of a broken home. … It was important to me that I kept them in the same school system. I didn’t want to jump around from district to district.

“Once we became residents, we embeded ourselves in the community. My kids became active. They made friends. I made friends here. I got active with my children. I just didn’t want to disrupt their education process. … It is just a great place to raise your family. Every community has issues. I feel like the people in Penn Hills, we come together and support one another when the time is right.”

Her job also gave her some leeway with scheduling to be available at home, which would prove to be a benefit to both her and the community.

“On the street that I raised my kids on, there were a lot of younger kids,” Coffey said. “When there was a two-hour delay, all the kids would come to my house because I had the flexibility with my job where I could go two hours late. It’s those types of things and that type of community and family atmosphere that makes raising your kids here a worthwhile endeavor.”

Back to school

Coffey refocused on her education through the Community College of Allegheny County and earned an associate’s degree in business management in 2010.

She would go on to dual major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and earn degrees in business management and human resource management.

Coffey earned a master’s in leadership studies/sports leadership from Duquesne University’s Graduate School of Leadership & Professional Advancement in 2014.

Her sons inspired her to get a doctorate in instructional management and leadership studies from Robert Morris University.

All that knowledge would help her become a better executive director of administration at the family business. That, and life, has made her a more well-rounded coach.

The coach said she leads about 24 students at a time.

Penn Hills athletic director Stephanie Strauss said Coffey’s cheerleading program is one of the district activities that always has roster cuts because so many young women want to be a part of her squad.

‘One of the lowest points’

One of the more traumatic experiences detailed in the book is the passing of Coffey’s father.

John Coffey had triple-bypass surgery and suffered from frequent blood vessel ruptures.

Lisa Coffey said she held him as he died after sneezing up blood at UPMC Mercy on Feb. 23, 1997.

He was 60. She was 30 at the time.

“He looked at me, and he told me he loved me,” Coffey said. “I couldn’t hear him. He was inaudible, but I could read his lips. … I didn’t expect him to die when he did. I expected them to say, ‘OK. We got to go in and do surgery and fix something.’ I was lost. I was broken. It’s one of the lowest points in my life.”

She would rely on family, friends, therapy and faith over the years to get her through everything.

Coffey is a member of the Mt. Ararat Baptist Church in East Liberty.

A book signing/launch event is set for 1:30 to 6 p.m. Aug. 7 at Penn Hills High School.

More information about the author and how to get the book is available at ididanducan2.com.