North Hills Junior Golf Academy

Mr. Michael Palano is a passionate teacher, family man, and leader of youth in the greater Pittsburgh area.  Coach Palano has extensive experience coordinating and directing youth camps.  He has run various camps and clinics in the Pittsburgh area including the North Hills Baseball Camp and the 5 Star Baseball Camp.  Mike is an avid and passionate golfer who has been providing enthuastic golf instruction at the NHJGA for the past 5 years.  In addition, Coach Palano has worked with professional scouts for the Baseball Factory, a national leader in player development.  Coach Michael Palano is a graduate of Bishop Timon High School, Buffalo, NY where he enjoyed a successful athletic career.  During that time he was named to the 1^st team All-State baseball team as an infielder and the All Western New York baseball and basketball team as a senior.  One of his proudest moments was recently being elected to the Bishop Timon athletic Hall of Fame.  After High School, Coach Palano attended Mercyhurst College on a baseball scholarship as a pitcher.  At Mercyhurst College he became an all-conference pitcher and team captain. He still holds the innings pitched in one season record and is in the top ten in career earned run average.  Currently he is in his tenth year as a teacher and Assistant Varsity Baseball coach in the North Hills School District. Coach Palano believes in the core values of the North Hills Junior Golf Academy and is passionate about teaching the fundamentals of the game. He resides in Cranberry with his wife Marie, daughter Alivia, and sons Andrew and Matthew.

Eric Kasperowicz
NHJGA Co-owner & Instructor
Eric was a four-year starter at Quarterback and Safety for North Hills High School and led them to their first A.A.A.A. WPIAL and Pennsylvania State Championship.  He was named Parade All-American, Pennsylvania State AAAA Player of the Year, and was the Quarterback in the prestigious Big 33 All-Star game.  Coach Kasperowicz was highly recruited out of high school and chose the University of Pittsburgh where he was a four year letterman and two year starter at linebacker.  In 1998 he graduated with his Masters Degree in Arts in Teaching from Pitt.  Eric was recently bestowed with a great honor--voted the All-Time Greatest Player in Western Pennsylvania (WPIAL) history by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review beating out 100 years of NFL greats from the region like Mike Ditka, Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, and LaVar Arrington.  Eric is currently in his 13th year as a health & physical education teacher at North Hills High School and in his 2nd year as Offensive Coordinator at Pine-Richland High School.  Eric is a golf, sports and outdoor enthusiast who was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area.  He is passionate about working with children and sharing with them his knowledge and many years of experience.  Eric has also been running the ekfootballcamp, which is a non-contact, youth football camp in the area, for 17 years.  Eric is married to Jennifer, they have 3 children; Ella 8, Eric 5, Emlyn 3.  In his free time, he enjoys fishing, golfing and hanging out with his family.