Dozen new A-K Valley high school basketball coaches set for season to tip off

By: Michael Love
Thursday, December 9, 2021 | 6:54 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Rich Mull certainly wasn’t alone when he officially took over the head coaching duties of the Plum girls basketball team in August.

He was one of a dozen coaches making that transition – six boys and six girls – among Alle-Kiski Valley teams at various points in the offseason.

“The girls worked hard when they were able to come together, especially in the weeks right before the start of the season,” said Mull, who as a coach in the Plum boys program the past several years watched the Mustangs girls build a level of strong play in and out of their section.

“We have a nice mix of returning talent and some younger players ready to get their chance. It will be interesting to see how things develop.”

While nearly half of all area boys and girls coaches are new, experience returns all over the map with numerous teams coming back with four, and in some cases, five starters from last year.

After a season unlike any other with covid uncertainties that caused headaches in the form of schedule delays, changes and cancellations, cautious optimism has flowed through the A-K Valley and throughout the WPIAL that a return to normalcy can stick.

That normalcy begins Friday with tip-off tournaments at gyms all across the region.

Coaches, players and fans alike are ready to exclaim: “Let the games begin!”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.