Leechburg hires new girls basketball coach

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, August 8, 2018 | 11:09 PM

Andre Carter considered football his first love as a player, but basketball became his coaching passion.

Leechburg hired Carter as its new girls basketball coach Thursday night, replacing Joel Ceraso, who took the same position at Burrell earlier this summer.

Carter played football and basketball at Valley, graduating in 1990. He began coaching basketball for his son Tre’s AAU team in 2006 and most recently coached Valley’s junior high boys team.

Leechburg is coming off the most successful four-year run in school history, including three consecutive WPIAL playoff appearances and back-to-back PIAA tournament trips. The Blue Devils graduated their entire starting five after last season, including all-time leading scorer Mikayla Lovelace.

Carter said he’s been working over the summer with some of Valley’s players, and he considers development a strong part of his coaching philosophy.

“I’m super excited,” said Carter, 46, of Penn Hills. “It’s a great opportunity. My first head coaching position. … I can pretty much come in and have a clean slate going forward and implement my style of play from the beginning, as opposed to trying to compete against (Ceraso’s) and change what they learned already.”

Tags: Leechburg