John Berger resigns as Ligonier Valley boys basketball coach

By: Paul Schofield
Thursday, November 19, 2020 | 7:48 PM

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Ligonier Valley boys basketball coach John Berger recently resigned, athletic director Wesley Siko said.

Berger cited work demands as the reason he can no longer coach the team. Berger is the Ligonier Borough Chief of Police.

Berger coached the Rams the past two seasons. The team played in the District 6 championship game both seasons and was Heritage Conference and KCAC champions.

This is the second time he has resigned as coach.

Girls basketball Tim Gustin will take over as boys coach, and Siko will act as interim girls coach.

“We’re in the process of interviewing for the girls position,” Siko said. “We hope to have someone hired by the Dec. 2 school board meeting.”

Siko also announced that because to school district went to remote learning, all winter sports programs are shut down until the district returns to a hybrid model.

That means Siko has been busy postponing, canceling and rescheduling games.

Siko said he hopes the district will return to the hybrid model in early December, but because the PIAA wants teams to have 15 practices in before their first game, the Rams might not be playing until around Christmas or later.

The programs affected are boys and girls basketball, wrestling and swimming.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Ligonier Valley