Joe Staley, son of James and Dolores Staley, graduated from Chaminade HS in 1972 and Wright State University in 1977. At Chaminade he played basketball for legendary, and two-time State Champion, coach Jim Turvene. It was under Turvene that Staley learned firsthand that to “be the best, you played the best”. Throughout his career Staley’s teams were renown for the challenging schedule they regularly played. The Eagles had no taste for scheduling wins.

Staley began his coaching career while in college as an assistant at Wilmington HS for four seasons for his brother Jim, also a member of the OHSBCA Hall of Fame. He later coached at West Carrollton HS for three seasons, this time as Jim Turvene’s assistant. His final stop as an assistant was for three seasons at Alter HS under Joe Petrocelli, another Hall of Fame coach and the second winningest coach in Ohio high school history. Obviously, his time as an assistant coach for these coaches would prove to be great training for his own coaching career.

In addition to playing a great schedule, Staley’s coaching philosophy was based on playing as hard as you possibly could each day in both practices and games. His players took great pride in that challenge, especially defensively. On offense his goal was to try and get into the paint every time down the floor. Open threes were to be shot off penetration. He also believed in spreading the floor four corner style to control tempo or protect leads late in the game. His teams produced 13 Division One scholarship players, six players who played professionally in a foreign country, and one NBA player. Coach Staley is extremely proud of the players he coached, and in retirement, misses most, the everyday relationships he had with them.

Staley served as the head men’s basketball coach at Chaminade Julienne HS from 1986 through 2019. During his 34-year stint at CJ he would win 452 games, nine District Championships and four Regional Championships, one each in four consecutive decades. His 1991 team finished as State Runner Up.

His teams won 12 championships during the 28 years they competed in the Greater Catholic League, one of the state’s strongest DII leagues. Among his many coaching honors, Staley was voted UPI DII Ohio Coach of the Year in 1992, and DII OHSBCA State Coach of the Year in 2019. In addition, he was DII API Coach of the Year in Southwest Ohio four times, DII District 15 Coach of the Year eight times, and Greater Catholic League Coach of the Year nine times. Other honors include the Bob Arnzen Award, being named the 1994 North-South game coach, and the 2008 Agonis Club Mike Kelly/ Don Donoher Award for the outstanding coach in the Dayton area.

For Staley, coaching at Chaminade Julienne was definitely a family affair. Throughout his career his wife Micky and their children were a tremendous support. His three daughters, Sarah, Megan, and Emily, along with his sister Debby, were among the most passionate fans the Eagles have ever had. His sons, Joe and John, also great fans, were outstanding Eagle players. Staley considers coaching his two sons the highlight of his career. Micky, a perfect coach’s wife, was so important that without her emotional support there would be no Hall of Fame recognition.

Finally, recognizing that no coach has ever achieved any real success of any type alone, Coach Staley would like to recognize the outstanding assistants with which he coached, especially, Tony Ricciuto, Bob Heidkamp, Bill Reichert, Charlie Szabo, Richard Kidd, Mike Piatt, and Joe Staley Jr.