George Guido: New coaches get past 1st game jitters

By: George Guido
Saturday, December 11, 2021 | 4:11 PM

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The moments before the start of the basketball season can be mentally taxing on a coach.

Are we ready? Could we have done more in practice? Do we know enough to counter our opponents?

For a new coach, new to a school or returning to the bench, it’s even more taxing.

With nearly half the coaching spots in the Alle-Kiski Valley vacated during the offseason, the time before the starting lineups were introduced became an even bigger avenue for wariness and contrasting thoughts.

Such was the case with Corey Dotchin, a head coach for the first time making his debut at Highlands, or Rich Mull, back in the saddle at Plum.

“It was exciting,” Dotchin said. “Spending nine or 10 years here, putting in the time, I was blessed to have the opportunity. I was glad to help (former coach Tyler) Stoczinski reshape the program. I was kind of anxious getting ready to go.”

Said Mull: “It had been a while since my last varsity game as a head coach. It was really exciting to get back in it.”

The Golden Rams made Dotchin’s debut pleasant, overwhelming Mt. Pleasant, 101-27.

Plum knocked off Freeport, 43-33.

‘Zoo Ken’ returns

Look out visitors, the Zoo Ken student cheering section is returning to the Valley gymnasium.

Gathering in the balcony at one end of the gym was popular several years ago.

Patterned after the Oakland Zoo crowd at Pitt basketball games, Zoo Ken took some time off with pandemic-related attendance restrictions last season.

At last Tuesday’s school board meeting, School Director Scott Bussard talked about buying Zoo Ken tee shirts for the students. Also, administrators met with student leaders to specify what kind of behavior will be expected. Let’s hope knucklehead-ism is held to a minimum.

The maintenance department also was instructed to secure the balcony barriers, as the students are fond of peering over the barrier. Valley has one of the few WPIAL facilities with a balcony located above a baseline.

Valey’s first boys home game will be Tuesday against Leechburg.

Before Farrell reduced the size of its gym after suffering a severe population drop, its gym had a balcony where students would shake the basket ductwork while an opponent attempted a foul shot.

When the Valley gym and parts of the campus were expanded to accommodate students coming over from the former Arnold High School building, a balcony was added to accommodate the overflow crowds of that era.

Many forget that in the first three years of Valley High School, the school district operated two high school buildings — the New Kensington campus and the Arnold campus — until all students were housed in the same building in 1970.

Replacing Muzzy

The school board also reported there have been 28 applications for Valley football coach.

Former coach Muzzy Colosimo stepped down at the season’s conclusion after 50 years of coaching, the last seven at Valley.

School directors hope to start the interviewing process quickly and hire a new coach, possibly as soon as January 11.

Tags: Highlands, Plum