Herkimer College employee honored in Genesis Group’s Striving for Success program

Herkimer College employee Peter “PJ” Anadio has been honored in the Genesis Group’s 15th Annual Striving for Success program.

The program honors young professionals and entrepreneurs for their dedication and commitment to their profession and the community, and for going above and beyond while excelling in their career field.

Anadio has served as the head softball coach at Herkimer College since 2010. Under his leadership, the Herkimer Generals softball program has earned a reputation as one of the top junior college softball programs in the nation.

“Since Anadio took over the program in 2010, the Generals — through tireless work on the field, in the community and especially the classroom — have earned the reputation of being one of the top programs at an athletically and academically rich institution,” the College said in its nomination of Anadio.

Anadio’s teams have won the Region III championship for the last eight seasons, and the Generals brought home the National Championship title in 2013. Anadio has been named the Mountain Valley Collegiate Conference Co-Coach of the Year every year since 2011 — and he has three times been named Region III Coach of the Year.

The Herkimer Generals softball team has one of the top student success rates in the nation, based on its graduation and transfer rates. Nine players from last year’s team earned NJCAA Academic All-Region honors for having a GPA of 3.5 or higher — not an uncommon feat for the softball program.

In the off-season, Anadio and his team are active in campus and community activities. They raise money and wrap presents for the Gram Lorraine Children’s Christmas program to bring clothes and toys to hundreds of local children, and they go caroling at local elder care centers. They have supported numerous causes through the years. As an example, in 2018, Anadio and his team donated 50 cases of water to aid in hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

As a representative of Herkimer College, Anadio has run numerous softball clinics, on campus and in the community, teaching young players pitching, catching, and how to maximize their talents in the field. He regularly volunteers to participate in career days, workshops, presentations and other events in order to help budding players learn what it takes to be successful in college athletics, including self-discipline, nutrition, teamwork and the importance of family and schoolwork.

Outside the College, Anadio recently opened his own business — Klutch Performance in Herkimer, featuring in-door batting cages for softball and baseball. He also coaches in the Women's Professional Softball.

Anadio is a graduate of Gloversville High School, where he was a three-year starter for the baseball team. He also is a graduate of Herkimer College, where he was a two-year captain for the baseball team, was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society and named an Academic All-American. In addition to coaching, Anadio is a full-time coordinator in the Athletic Department at Herkimer. He resides in Herkimer with his wife Jamie and his son Evan.