close

South Fayette hires former SLS coach to lead girls basketball program

By Jacob Calvin Meyer staff Writer jmeyer@thealmanac.Net 4 min read
article image -

After spending the last seven years as an assistant coach for the Upper St. Clair boys basketball team, Bryan Bennett was officially hired last week to lead the South Fayette girls basketball program.

Bennett, 41, takes over for Matt Bacco, who resigned in February after 10 seasons at the helm. The South Fayette School Board approved his hiring during its June 19 meeting.

“There’s a rich tradition of excellence in all the areas of athletics, academics and arts at South Fayette. “When the job came open, it was a no-brainer for me. It’s the right place and the right time for me to pursue a head coaching gig again.”

Bennett, who is a math teacher at Upper St. Clair High School, said he’s been holding workouts over the past two weeks with his new players.

“I’m extremely excited, especially when I met the kids,” Bennett said. “It’s been an absolute joy over the past two weeks. Stepping into the gym with them every day is definitely what makes it worth it.”

South Fayette is Bennett’s second head coaching job. Before his seven-year stint at Upper St. Clair, during which the Panthers were 65-73 with two WPIAL playoff appearances, Bennett was the head coach of Seton LaSalle’s girls basketball team for three years.

The Rebels went 57-25 and made it to two WPIAL title games under Bennett. After going 14-12 and losing in the first round of the WPIAL tournament in 2007-08, Bennett, a 1995 graduate of Freedom High School, led Seton LaSalle to records of 21-6 and 22-7, respectively, in the next two seasons. The Rebels lost to Sto-Rox in the 2008-09 title game and Jeannette in the 2009-10 championship game. In 2009-10, Seton LaSalle advanced to the quarterfinals of the PIAA tournament.

Bennett takes over the program after one of its worst seasons in recent history, though that’s mostly due to the level of success Bacco’s Lions had over his decade with the team.

The Lions finished the 2017-18 season 12-9 overall with a 7-3 record in Section 1-5A. In Bacco’s 10 years, during which the school jumped from Class AA to Class 5A, the Lions were 173-78, good for a .690 winning percentage, and an 83-29 section record.

Bennett said bouncing between the boys and the girls game isn’t a difficult transition for him. After coaching one season for Hopewell’s boys basketball, Bennett went to Seton LaSalle to coach girls, Upper St. Clair to coach boys and now to South Fayette to lead a girls program.

“I talked to the kids today after our workout about this,” he said. “One of the things I told them is that I’m going to treat them like anyone I coach. I’m going to coach you as an athlete. There isn’t a difference for me. I’m going to push them like every other athlete.”

Bennett said the coaching staff, which consists of Garrett Del Re, Alex Gensler and Olet Stasko along with himself, will wait to evaluate the players before implementing a system.

“We’re not going to force our kids to fit our system,” he said, “Some coaches have systems that they force, but that’s not what’s best for the kids. We want to put them in the best possible position for success. I guarantee anyone who sees us play will see a group of kids who play hard and play the right way.”

Of Bennett’s assistants, Stasko is a returning assistant, Del Re played at Upper St. Clair and was taught by Bennett, while Gensler is a former USC girls basketball player who played at Duquesne and professionally in Hungary.

“My coaching staff and I, we’re trying to push the kids to get better every day,” he said. “We’re gradually getting to know each other. As long as we improve every day and put forth our best effort, we’ll have success.”

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $/week.

Subscribe Today