Nick Dizon steps down as Kiski Area’s girls basketball coach to lead Penn State Greater Allegheny program

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, April 19, 2022 | 12:14 PM

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Nick Dizon called it a very tough decision, but after four years as coach of the Kiski Area girls basketball team, he is stepping away to lead the women’s program at Penn State Greater Allegheny.

“I met with the team (Monday) night, and talking with them was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life,” said Dizon, who followed the meeting with an emotional letter posted to Twitter publicly announcing his decision.

“There’s been a lot of memories and a lot of ups and downs at Kiski with the program that I wouldn’t trade for anything. Every second I had with those girls, I was blessed and privileged to have that. I was privileged to coach them.

“But at the end of the day, I had to look at it from a professional and personal move. It hits the heart, and it will for some time, but I felt it was an opportunity I had to take advantage of.”

Forever Grateful. Forever Family. Forever Memories. Thank you Kiski ???? pic.twitter.com/ttdHAJ8mjc

— Nick Dizon (@CoachNickDizon) April 18, 2022

Dizon’s final assignment representing the Cavaliers was leading the East team in the Cager Classic girls all-star game April 2 at Highlands.

In the highest-scoring girls contest in the Cager Classic’s 25 years, the West outlasted the East, 91-85, in two overtimes.

Kiski Area seniors Karly Keller and Riley Hanan played for Dizon on the East team.

Keller, a Grove City women’s soccer commit, was one of several players on both teams to score in double figures. She finished with 10 points.

Through adversities that included injuries to key players and the covid pandemic that specifically affected the 2020-21 season, Dizon said his teams the past four years maintained a positive attitude and dedication to get better on and off the court.

Of Dizon’s four seasons, Kiski Area won the most games this season as it went 9-13 overall. It posted a 3-9 mark in a rugged Section 2-5A with the likes of section champion Indiana and playoff qualifiers Hampton, Mars and Armstrong.

The Cavaliers won their final three games of the season. They capped section play with a close 43-40 victory over Plum on senior night before topping WPIAL playoff qualifiers St. Joseph and Freeport.

“What I emphasized to the girls when I talked to them was that I didn’t take one charge this year, and I didn’t run one sprint,” said Dizon, a Woodland Hills graduate who went on to play in college at La Roche and Penn State Greater Allegheny and was a boys assistant at Gateway before coming to Kiski.

“And that goes for all four years, too. The growth they had, including this year, was all them, and they are going to continue to grow. They are the pieces who have been instrumental in this program beginning to turn in the right direction, and they will keep doing that. The new coach will be getting a group of hungry competitors who are ready to take that next step. More importantly, he or she will be getting just a great group of girls in general. That is the way it is in the Kiski program, K through 12.”

Dizon said that despite no longer being the coach at Kiski, he will continue to offer support to the girls any way he can.

He also was quick to mention the assistant coaches, head coaches and volunteers who put in a lot of work to help build the program at all levels, from the elementary program up to varsity.

Kiski Area athletic director John Peterman said the coaching position will be advertised when the Kiski Area School Board officially accepts Dizon’s resignation at its next meeting.

“Nick helped form a very composed foundation to the basketball team and program,” Peterman said. “He was able to keep the young ladies engaged and working every day to get better. He did that without having any negative distractions within the program, and he was able to keep them all together. He also did a lot of things outside the gymnasium with meetings that kept everyone working for the same goals moving forward.

“Nick isn’t stepping away because he is disenfranchised with anything in the school or the program. He’s leaving for where he feels it is a stepping stone in his basketball career, and I applaud him for that. Do I want to see him leave? No. But I understand his decision. He did so much for the program over the past four years, and he handled his duties with professionalism each and every day.”

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.

Tags: Kiski Area