Boys’ Basketball: Pine Grove opts not to bring back Lehman as Cards’ coach

Pine Grove boys' basketball coach Jordan Lehman (center) during Schuylkill League Division I game between the Cardinals and Blue Mountain (Photo by Brook Koch-Guers).

PINE GROVE — After leading the Pine Grove’s boys’ basketball program with dedication and passion for three seasons, head coach Jordan Lehman will not be returning for the next season.

While the specifics behind his departure remain largely unspoken, the change reflects the ever-evolving nature of high school athletics, where coaching decisions are often influenced by more than just wins and losses.

Leadership changes, differing visions and administrative shifts can all play a role in shaping a program’s future.

Lehman, a Pine Grove Area High School graduate and former baseball standout at the school, said the way the situation was handled left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“I felt that as a head coach of the basketball program for three years and a coach in the baseball program for nine years combined, at minimal a phone call, I would think a meeting, would have been the respectful thing to do,” Lehman said. “But instead, I got a text message that the basketball program would be opened. And that is all I heard from anyone in the administration or athletic staff, no end of the year meeting or evaluation. Nothing, just the spot opening up.

“They did end up saying after two days that I can reapply, but with how it went down, what they wanted to accomplish was accomplished. If the school district does not have confidence in the coach and it gets out into the public, and it’s known, how do the kids have a confidence in the coaching staff if they come back. My coaching staff all agrees with that when we were talking about it.”

The Pine Grove boys’ basketball team had an up-and-down season, compiling a 7-15 overall record and that included a 4-10 mark in Schuylkill League Division I play.

Outside of the hardwood, Lehman was approached about off-season improvement plans, which were added to the Cardinals’ program. Lehman believes rumors and innuendos outside of basketball played a part in his departure.

“We had an idea it was coming,” Lehman said. “Word got back to us with six games left, while we were still in the playoff hunt. At that point, I believe we had to win five out of our last six. We were in a lot of games and one of our student athletes walked up to us and said, ‘Is it true you’re not coming back next year?’ And you want to talk about your heart sinking at a practice when you’re trying to get your team to play good basketball and have a shot to make the playoffs.

“With our schedule we had left, was it going to be a challenge? Absolutely. But as a coach you’re trying to get that positivity and belief in yourself going, and that kid walks up to you says that.

“Living in a small town it got back to me that it was talked about, opening the job at the end of the year. It was never in stone, but we did have an idea it was a possibility. From that point on, it wasn’t fair to those kids to end the year like that and have that doubt in the back of your head.”

Lehman, 36, is the son of longtime Cardinals baseball skipper Keith Lehman. He started his coaching career as an assistant coach for both the high school boys’ basketball and baseball teams for the Cards. He went on to take the varsity baseball head coaching position at Tri-Valley for a few seasons before returning to Pine Grove to become the head boys’ basketball coach, while also serving as an assistant coach in baseball.

“To be honest, I think it meant a lot more probably two weeks ago than it does now,” Lehman said about his passion for Pine Grove sports. “When I came back from college, I decided to help Coach (Frank) D’Agostino, who is my cousin, as an assistant (basketball coach). Some things changed in terms of I couldn’t make early practices with my work schedule. It wasn’t fair for me to be holding kids accountable and to be on time to practice when their JV coach is showing up late every day. So, at that point on the basketball side, I decided to step away and focus on baseball in the spring.

“It was always a dream of mine, when I was a little kid sitting in the dugout and keeping score, to coach with my dad, which I had the honor of getting to do. When the position opened up at Tri-Valley, I was working over at Masser’s Potato Farm in Sacramento, which is 5-10 minutes away from the school. I just thought it was something I can do. It was a good program I was walking into there, and I wanted to build more.

“Two years I was there, we were successful, but my wife and I wanted to start our family. And the days of work starting early and not getting home until 6 p.m. some nights … on game nights 7 or 7:30 … it wasn’t fair to my wife as far as starting our family.”

Lehman and his staff tried to make an impact on more than just the hardwood.

In a statement, Lehman expressed his appreciation for the players, staff and community that supported the team throughout his tenure when speaking about the dynamic of families and his family.

“This year to tell the truth was an absolute blast with my son starting to pick up the game and not just clapping all the time,” he said. “All that stuff is the little things to me. I mean, yes, you’re hired to be a coach, but as we always preach to our players, it’s about more than X’s and O’s. We care about them just as much when they step on the court as when they walk off it. And that is just how we’ve always been, how we always were.

“We knew how important that was to us, the kids always having family time,” Lehman continued. “We always tried to schedule practices to ensure family dinners can happen throughout the week, depending on when we played. All that extra stuff we tried to put into it.”

As Pine Grove looks ahead to a new chapter, the search for a successor will be closely watched. Meanwhile, Lehman remains committed to his family and former players.

“After last year our point guard had a pretty severe concussion,” Lehman said. “Sat out soccer season. He didn’t play basketball this year, so you start moving pieces around. We had guys that filled in that void as best as possible handling the ball. Dealt with injuries, where one of our seniors missed six games. A sophomore guard missed 3-4 weeks. So right there your new point guard is out six games, your backup is out 3-4 weeks, and they overlap.

“We moved our forwards to handle the ball, (Quinn) Brommer and (Hayden) Felty. Now the guy you might’ve had as the scoring threat is helping handle the ball, guy coming off the screen for a shot, well, now he’s the point guard setting that shot up. So, there was a lot of adjusting, which obviously comes with coaching, and probably makes it the fun part as a coach.”

Pine Grove Area School Board President Dave Lukasewicz was contacted via email for a comment, but no comment was provided.