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鈥檚 girls basketball head coach after eight seasons.
Kezmarsky announced her resignation at the Uniontown school board meeting on March 10.
鈥淚 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,鈥� Kezmarsky said at the meeting. 鈥淏asketball has given me so many opportunities throughout my life, and coach is now added to that list.
鈥淭his job wasn鈥檛 done alone, I鈥檝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鈥檛 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.鈥�
Kezmarsky recently expanded on her reasons for stepping down.
鈥淲e鈥檇 done it for eight years,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he time that it takes 鈥� coaching high school sports is not a three-month job it鈥檚 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.鈥�
Kezmarsky鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 record to Kezmarsky.
鈥淚t鈥檚 more than just the wins and losses,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 building character, teamwork, following rules, learning life skills, things that they can use down the road in a job, whatever it might be.鈥�
Kezmarsky鈥檚 best player and one of the Lady Raiders鈥� all-time greats, Mya Murray, praised her former coach after completing her collegiate playing career recently at Brown and then Robert Morris.
鈥淐oach Kezmarsky helped me so much on and off the court,鈥� Murray said. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have made it to where I am today without her.鈥�
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.
鈥淚 just liked giving the girls an opportunity to play a sport that I loved and that had given me opportunities,鈥� said Kezmarsky, who is a teacher in the district. 鈥淛ust having girls come to us at the end of a season and saying I don鈥檛 know if I would鈥檝e graduated if it wasn鈥檛 for us and this basketball team, meant so much to us.
鈥淎s coach you鈥檙e the driving factor of keeping girls coming to school and making sure they鈥檙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鈥� lives.鈥�
Kezmarsky was appreciative of the backing she received from the school district.
鈥淓veryone was very supportive of me and my coaching staff,鈥� she said. 鈥淣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.鈥�
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.
鈥淩ob鈥檚 wife also works for the district. She鈥檚 a guidance counselor at the high school. So a lot of times people will be like, oh you鈥檙e Mr, Kezmarsky鈥檚 wife,鈥� Kezmarsky said with a laugh. 鈥淓ven at work, teaching-wise it happens. We are related but we鈥檙e just distant cousins. People in Brownsville know me but in Uniontown I get that quite a bit.鈥�
Kezmarsky didn鈥檛 completely shut the door on returning to coaching some day.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 dislike it at all so it鈥檚 not something I would close off forever,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淒own the line, it鈥檚 something I could see revisiting.
鈥淚t definitely is not something I would oppose doing again.鈥�
(Zach Petroff contributed to this story.)