Stepping aside
Penny Kezmarsky ends 8-year run as Lady Raiders coach
Eight was enough for Penny Kezmarsky, at least for now.
Kezmarsky recently stepped down as Uniontown无毛视频檚 girls basketball head coach after eight seasons.
Kezmarsky announced her resignation at the Uniontown school board meeting on March 10.
无毛视频淚 just wanted to take this moment to thank Dr. (Charles) Machesky and the board for supporting me in the last eight seasons as the girls varsity basketball coach,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said at the meeting. 无毛视频淏asketball has given me so many opportunities throughout my life, and coach is now added to that list.
无毛视频淭his job wasn无毛视频檛 done alone, I无毛视频檝e had the honor to work with several athletic directors and they all provided so much help and guidance, as well as Mr. (Brian) Lafferty and Miss (Kim) Croci, who were instrumental in so many of the behind-the-scenes things. My assistant coach and I couldn无毛视频檛 have done it without all their help. We are proud to be part of the Raider family. Thank you again for trusting us with this position and we look forward to being Raider fans.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky recently expanded on her reasons for stepping down.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檇 done it for eight years,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淭he time that it takes 无毛视频� coaching high school sports is not a three-month job it无毛视频檚 a 12-month job. I just wanted to free up some more time for my family and the directions things are moving outside of basketball.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky无毛视频檚 wife and assistant coach Michelle Sevcik also resigned.
Kezmarsky guided the team to its best record under her reign last year when the Lady Raiders were 9-13 but a move up in classification into the highly competitive Section 4-5A, where they were one of the smallest teams enrollment-wise, led to a 6-13 overall record and a 1-11 section mark this past season.
Kezmarsky无毛视频檚 team went back and forth between Class 4A and 5A during her time as coach and she accumulated 42 victories.
A well-respected coach, it was about more than the team无毛视频檚 record to Kezmarsky.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 more than just the wins and losses,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 building character, teamwork, following rules, learning life skills, things that they can use down the road in a job, whatever it might be.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky无毛视频檚 best player and one of the Lady Raiders无毛视频� all-time greats, Mya Murray, praised her former coach after completing her collegiate playing career recently at Brown and then Robert Morris.
无毛视频淐oach Kezmarsky helped me so much on and off the court,无毛视频� Murray said. 无毛视频淚 wouldn无毛视频檛 have made it to where I am today without her.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky, a former Brownsville star who played in the Roundball Classic and went on to start in college at Point Park, said she enjoyed her time at Uniontown.
无毛视频淚 just liked giving the girls an opportunity to play a sport that I loved and that had given me opportunities,无毛视频� said Kezmarsky, who is a teacher in the district. 无毛视频淛ust having girls come to us at the end of a season and saying I don无毛视频檛 know if I would无毛视频檝e graduated if it wasn无毛视频檛 for us and this basketball team, meant so much to us.
无毛视频淎s coach you无毛视频檙e the driving factor of keeping girls coming to school and making sure they无毛视频檙e student-athletes, not just athletes. That was really big for me. That really stuck with me, just knowing that the sport, this team kept them in school and kept them motivated and working hard for their grades. That was one of my best memories, knowing that I made a difference in some girls无毛视频� lives.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky was appreciative of the backing she received from the school district.
无毛视频淓veryone was very supportive of me and my coaching staff,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淣ot being a Uniontown grad, coming from Brownsville, I found the Raider tradition and the Raider pride is very strong in this district and that was felt through the eight seasons I was there. They take a lot of pride in their athletics and they take care of their teams and I really enjoyed coaching for them.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky chuckled at a misconception many people have about her and Uniontown boys basketball head coach Rob Kezmarsky. The two were often thought to be husband and wife or brother and sister by many outside and even in the district.
无毛视频淩ob无毛视频檚 wife also works for the district. She无毛视频檚 a guidance counselor at the high school. So a lot of times people will be like, oh you无毛视频檙e Mr, Kezmarsky无毛视频檚 wife,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said with a laugh. 无毛视频淓ven at work, teaching-wise it happens. We are related but we无毛视频檙e just distant cousins. People in Brownsville know me but in Uniontown I get that quite a bit.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky didn无毛视频檛 completely shut the door on returning to coaching some day.
无毛视频淚 didn无毛视频檛 dislike it at all so it无毛视频檚 not something I would close off forever,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淒own the line, it无毛视频檚 something I could see revisiting.
无毛视频淚t definitely is not something I would oppose doing again.无毛视频�
(Zach Petroff contributed to this story.)