Woodland Hills provides ‘right situation’ for Steve Scorpion’s 2nd chance as head coach

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, September 18, 2024 | 11:07 PM

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His checkered past behind him, Steve Scorpion said faith led him back to the WPIAL head coaching ranks.

Woodland Hills hired Scorpion on Wednesday to be its boys head basketball coach, giving the former Franklin Regional coach another shot at doing what he loves.

He is clutching the opportunity with gratitude and a measure of perspective.

“I believed I would be a head coach again at some point,” Scorpion said. “I knew it would happen. It’s great for Woodland Hills to believe in me. I lived (in the school district) until I was in sixth grade.”

Scorpion, 41, was open about his longtime opioid addiction, which caused him to crash his car on Route 22 in 2021. He nearly died after nodding off at the wheel and crashing, saying he stopped breathing and “coded” before he was revived by medical personnel.

His job as a teacher and coach gone, he went to rehabilitation and rediscovered the powerful relationship he has with God and his family — his wife, Marissa, and their three young boys, Stevie, Caden and Rowen.

“God works on his time,” said Scorpion, a Franklin Regional alum. “This was the right time and the right situation. I was a finalist at another place last year, but that was not God’s plan for me. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity.”

Scorpion has more stability in his life and more trust in himself, which he made sure was clear in interviews for coaching positions.

“It came up,” he said of his background. “But everything happened three years ago. This is all part of the plan for me. I may not understand why, but this is what is next. I am working to do my best as a husband, father, teacher, coach — all of it. If a place didn’t accept me, so be it.”

Woodland Hills athletic director Ty Brown said Scorpion’s resume and current situation, not his past, mattered more.

Scorpion replaces Jared Zych, who did not come back after one season.

“We did a thorough search to find the best person for our student-athletes,” Brown said. “We have a group of kids who are eager to be coached. We wanted to find someone who is a great leader, someone who can connect with our kids, someone who knows how to run a program from varsity all the way down to the middle school teams, and someone who thoroughly knows the game of basketball. Coach Scorpion checked all of those boxes for us, and I know he will do a great job leading our basketball program.”

Brown added: “He is a gym rat. He is a student of the game, but also a great teacher. “

Scorpion is in his third year as a health and physical education teacher at Young Scholars of Western PA Charter School in Pittsburgh.

He went 53-34 in four seasons as Franklin Regional’s coach, never missing the playoffs and guiding the Panthers to a WPIAL Class 5A runner-up finish in 2017-18.

After his recovery, he spent a season each as an assistant at Woodland Hills and Kiski Area.

Eugene Wilson was the head coach at Woodland Hills when Scorpion was there. The pair were college teammates at Pitt-Johnstown.

Had Wilson not resigned, Scorpion said he probably would have remained as his assistant.

“I owe a lot to Eugene and (Kiski Area coach) Corey (Smith) for giving me an opportunity to be on their staff,” Scorpion said. “I don’t take anything for granted.”

Brown said Scorpion’s Xs-and-Os know-how can go a long way in the program.

“I was blown away by his basketball knowledge during our chalk-talk session,” Brown said, “and I’m excited to work with him.”

Woodland Hills will play next season in Class 6A, which will have two, eight-team sections.

“We have a ton of talent here, a lot of young kids. They want to win. I am excited about what we can do defensively. I coached against a lot of these kids in AAU. The juniors were there when I was there the last time.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Woodland Hills