Dana Amato

Pascack Valley has always been a place students and teachers feel comfortable in. For PV Physical Education teacher and alum Dana Amato, the mindset has stayed the same.

Amato’s journey has come full circle. She was a softball and basketball player at PV as a student and now helps coach both of these teams.

“I know the community [and] I know all the teachers here,” Amato said. “Going [to PV] was something that made me into the person I was, and I knew if I could give back to [this community] I would love to do that. The relationships that [the students] have with [their] teachers, coaches and the student body is something that I don’t hear about in other places.”

Amato initially started her teaching career in teaching positions in places such as Hasbrouck Heights and Paramus. Eventually, she got a part-time position as a gym teacher in Fort Lee along with being an assistant softball coach.

“After that, I was just waiting. Obviously, I wanted to be a teacher so [I was] just trying to find a physical education spot somewhere, and one opened here,” Amato said. “It was almost like I had to [take the job].”

After teaching and coaching at Fort Lee she came back to the Valley. Now, she is coaching basketball and softball with her former coaches, Jeff Jasper and Craig Nilsen. Jasper is a history teacher at PV and is the head coach for the girls’ basketball team. Nilsen does not work at the school anymore but comes back a few days a week to help out with the softball program.

“[When I played at Valley, the coaches] always looked out for you, whether it was for schoolwork or [on the field],” Amato said. “They were someone who I could always go to. Still, I am asking [Jasper and Nilsen] questions [in both] basketball and softball because of their experience. There is definitely a connection between [us], and they just have great knowledge of [their respective] sport.”

Back in 2015, Amato was offered a long-term leave replacement at Valley. Unfortunately, her grandma was sick, so she had to reject that offer to stay home and take care of her. Subsequently, that summer she decided to go to Italy and play softball. 

“I was there for about a month playing softball. [We were] just getting the word out [about our team]. We went from Rome [all the way] to the north,” Amato said. “That was a lot of fun.”

Although Amato is now a teacher and has been for a few years, her original dream job was a bit different. During her freshman and sophomore years, she was set on being a chef. But after helping out at Jasper’s camp over the summer going into her junior year, she realized teaching was for her.

After playing softball for PV all four years, she decided to play softball at the collegiate level for Montclair State University. There, she played third base all four years. During her time there she made it to three national competitions. She was also pursuing her teaching career while she was at Montclair State University.

Although Amato was an athlete, she valued her education and worked hard in her sport to get where she ended up. She encourages young athletes who are pursuing collegiate sports to do the same.

“[You definitely need] time management in college,” Amato said. “Whatever you put into it, is what you’re going to get out of it. If you want to put in the hard work and work really hard to reach your dream, it is possible.”