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Bethel Park girls basketball coach resigns

By Eleanor Bailey almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.Net 4 min read
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When Jonna Burke accepted the girls basketball coaching job at Butler High School in 1995, she thought that would be permanent. Then in 2003 Bethel Park High School courted her and she accepted a similar position at her alma mater.

On Sept. 28, Burke resigned as head coach of the Black Hawks girls basketball team to take the same position at Shady Side Academy.

“I’m not somebody that wants to bounce around,” Burke said. “At the time, I thought Butler was my last stop. Then Bethel Park for sure because this was my hometown, my school, my community and I bleed black and orange. So for obvious reasons this was a gut-wrenching decision. But, when this opportunity arose, I couldn’t pass it up.

“Yes, I think it’s my last stop,” she added. “I’m about building relationships and to do that you have to spend time at a place.”

Burke can get comfortable at Shady Side Academy.

“It’s not your average high school,” she said. “It’s beautiful and the campus is gorgeous. It’s like a small college and you fell like you’re really something special.”

As a coach, Burke has been spectacular. In fact, she is 17 victories shy of 500 career wins. She has won a WPIAL championship in 2013 and coached in three other title games. In 22 seasons, she has compiled a 483-196 record.

At BP, she owned a 360-107 mark. Her teams qualified for the WPIAL playoffs during her entire tenure. She guided her teams to 14 district semifinal appearances.

Burke aspires to transform the Shady Side Academy program into a perennial playoff contender.

The Bulldogs posted 1-10 and 7-15 records the past two years coming on the heels of a record campaign. During the 2018-19 season, Shady Side Academy posted a 20-5 record, captured a section title but lost to Neshannock in the WPIAL Class AA championship game played at the Petersen Events Center. The Bulldogs also reached the second round of the PIAA tournament that season.

“I want that to become the norm, 18 to 20 wins a year and playoff runs,” said Burke, a WPIAL Hall of Fame inductee. “I think at SSA, there is a lot of potential for growth and to start building something special. It’s going to take hard work but I’m willing to put the time in to build a good basketball team and program. I’m really excited to get started and meet the team.”

Burke, who stopped teaching when she became a mother, is also excited to be working full-time again. In addition to coaching, Burke will also teach physical education at SSA.

Burke and her husband, Kevin, have two children, Logan and Tanner. She said part of the reason she made the move to Shady Side Academy was to get back in the classroom.

“The fact that it would be somewhere else didn’t cross my mind until weird circumstances brought this opportunity my way,” she said. “I was looking to do what’s best for my family and it’s a way that I can contribute.”

Burke said her family supported the decision. Logan will continue her education at Bethel Park High School and not transfer to Shady Side Academy to play for her mother.

“Logan enjoys her classes and she has a good group of friends. I respect that. This is best for both of us. Besides I see her every day and I’ve coached her enough in the backyard and with her AAU teams,” Burke said.

The two dozen other girls in the BP program are like daughters to Burke too. She said it was very emotional when she informed them that she was leaving.

“A lot of tears were shed,” said Burke, a former Pitt standout.

“It’s going to be very hard for me to see them coached by someone else,” she added. “Right now, I have no interest in adding BP to our schedule because I love those girls too much. I will always be a fan but I don’t want to play against them.”

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