Six new coaches leading PAC boys basketball teams this winter

While never coaching in the league prior to this season, Upper Perkiomen first-year head man Michael DeCarolis got to know some of the coaches in the Pioneer Athletic Conference during stops as an assistant at Hatboro-Horsham and Pennridge and as the head man at Quakertown.

By the time he finally joined the league this offseason, most of the familiar faces were replaced.

“I think coaching in the PAC is something I really wanted to do,” DeCarolis said. “It’s been a really strong league for probably 10 plus years now. Coaching at Pennridge, we coached against a lot of those schools the Methactons, Boyertowns, Spring-Fords. When I was in the Suburban One, we coached against Norristown before they moved. It’s funny all the coaches that I knew are gone now. All those relationships I had are no longer there. Being able to meet with all the new coaches and everything will be nice.”

DeCarolis was one of six coaching hires amongst the PAC boys basketball programs this offseason as half of the conference’s program leaders either departed the PAC or in one case found a new gig in the league.

Ben Condello (Owen J. Roberts), DeCarolis (Upper Perkiomen), Joe Dempsey (Spring-Ford), Ken Ivory (Pottstown) and Travis Miller (Boyertown) take charge of new programs, while Scott Palladino (Pottsgrove) returns to the place he previously coached at for 10 seasons from 2006-2016 before a stint at crosstown rival Pottstown for the past three seasons.

“With the turnover of coaches this year, the (Liberty) division will be even more unpredictable,” said second-year Methacton coach Pat Lockard, who is suddenly in the top half of longest tenured coaches in the league.

Palladino will be in his 14th year in the PAC this season with his combined time at Pottsgrove and Pottstown. Perkiomen Valley 10th-year head man Mike Poysden is now the longest tenured coach in the league.

Upper Merion’s Jason Quenzer (eighth season) and Phoenixville’s Eric Burnett (seventh season) are others who have been around the block a few times, while Norristown’s Binky Johnson (fourth season) and Pope John Paul II’s Brendan Stanton (fourth season) are suddenly the veterans of the league.

Miller takes over for the PAC’s previously longest tenured coach Mike Ludwig, who coached the Bears for his 11th season in 2020-21 before deciding to give his attention and focus to the Boyertown’s blossoming girls volleyball program

Miller, a 2003 Boyertown grad, spent the last 13 years as an assistant in the program, including the last three as a varsity assistant to Ludwig, helping turn the Bears into a district playoff team the past two seasons.

“In working with Mike the last 12 years, I think we’ve put together a pretty solid foundation of what we want this program to be,” Millers said. “Our goal moving forward is just to improve on that, get better everyday and try to win a PAC championship. That’s our goal. It’s something that we haven’t done yet.”

Miller isn’t the only PAC alum joining the league’s coaching ranks this season. Owen J. Roberts 2014 grad Ben Condello, who coached at the middle school and then the freshman team while also assisting on the bench during varsity games, takes over for Bill Detweiler, who had to leave for work-related reasons after two seasons.

“When I think of Owen J., I think of so many things of growing up here and all that stuff too, but I think the big thing is coming back home and being able to put this program in a place it hasn’t been in a while and take it to a place maybe it’s never been,” Condello said. “I think that’s kind of the goal. Being an alumni, it would mean more than anything to me to do it not for me but for all the guys who have walked through these halls, walked through the gyms.”

Palladino takes over for Jack Flanagan, who left Pottsgrove after five seasons to coach the girls team at Pope John Paul II. He has quite the track record in the PAC, having played at Pottsgrove before a coaching stint with the Falcons that included a league title in 2009-10.

After two seasons away from coaching, Palladino coached Pottstown to a 22-28 record from 2018-2021, twice just missing the cut for the PAC postseason.

“I couldn’t pass this up,” Palladino said of the Pottsgrove job. “To get the opportunity to go home to the school I graduated from. I played here and obviously I coached here for numerous years. This is my final stop. I’m not going anywhere else. I will ride this out until the end of my career.”

Ivory, another Falcons alum (2001), was an assistant for Palladino for eight seasons during his original go-around at Pottsgrove. He served as interim head coach at Pottstown in 2016-17 and then coached with Palladino again as an assistant with the Trojans for two seasons.

He recently got a teaching job at Pottstown High School and with Palladino leaving, the timing was right to take the Trojans coaching gig.

“The comfort level and the relationships I have with the kids so far, I thought it would be an easy transition into just being the guy in charge,” Ivory said. “It really isn’t that much of a difference, moreso just implementing my system and stuff like that, but with the relationships I have with them I was kind of excited about it. I just got a teaching job there too, so I’m in the building.”

Miller noted despite those relationships, there are some challenges that familiarity brings going from assistant to head coach.

“It definitely made it an easier transition smoother transition,” Miller said. “I think this might be one of the toughest years for me, obviously taking on a new role, and getting the kids to view me as that different role is one of the battles I’ve got to deal with.”

Dempsey and DeCarolis are both new to the PAC, but both bring with them multiple decades of coaching experience.

Including his stints at Hatboro-Horsham, Pennridge and Quakertown, DeCarolis coached the Penn State-Lehigh Valley men’s basketball team.

“I took the year off after Quakertown,” DeCarolis said. “With COVID going on and all that uncertainty, I felt it was in my best interest to take some time off and kind of reflect on everything. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to go to the high school level again or try to get back to college, but I saw the Upper Perk opportunity happened.”

“I just think this will be a very good opportunity to try to re-write some history for the program at Upper Perk,” he added. “ I’ve been trying to explain to them that changing the culture, changing the tradition of a program can’t happen overnight because you want to. We really have to work extremely hard for it.”

Dempsey replaces Chris Talley, who won two PAC championships and went to two more in eight seasons before having to step down after taking an administrator role.

He coached the La Salle High School boys basketball team from 2004-18, taking the Explorers to the PIAA tournament four times, including a Class 4A title game appearance in 2014. Dempsey, the 2010 Catholic League Coach of the Year, was an assistant for Gregg Downer at Lower Merion for the past several seasons, helping the Aces to a District 1-6A title in 2021.

Dempsey was ready to go back to Lower Merion, which is set up for another good season in 2021-22, before the Spring-Ford job opened up.

“A bunch of people reached out to me and said, ‘Hey this would be a good spot for you,’” said Dempsey, a Collegeville resident. “Obviously a great district, big school, beautiful facilities. There’s a lot of good athletes, and I’m familiar with the area. … At my stage in my career, I’m not ready for retirement or anything, but you want to make sure you pick the right spot.”

The only downside of the position was that he wasn’t officially approved until three days after the official start of the PIAA season.

“The kids have been terrific,” Dempsey said. “Not knowing me and me not knowing them truthfully, I’m just trying to get to know them a little bit. Honestly, I like to consider myself a relational coach, really get to know my kids and care about them beyond basketball. Right now, it’s just learning about their basketball and I’m hoping to back track a little bit and become more familiar with their lives.”