BASKETBALL
Our state-of-the-art facilities cater to athletes of all skill levels, providing an ideal environment for training, games, and tournaments. With dedicated courts, professional coaching, and a variety of programs, we are committed to fostering a love for the game and helping players reach their full potential. Join us and take your basketball skills to the next level!
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Our Coaches
Pat Crampsie
Basketball
Coach Crampsie has been the head coach at Panther Valley HS for the past 22 years and has the most wins in Panther Valley Boys Basketball history. His Panthers have appeared in two District Championships, winning gold in 2020. In this same year, his Panther Valley team advanced to the state quarterfinals which resulted in Coach Crampsie being named the 2020 National Federation of HS Sports Pennsylvania Boys Basketball Coach of the Year. In 2018 his team won the Div 3 Schuylkill League. Under his tutelage, the Panthers have qualified for district playoffs for 7 straight years. In addition, he has run a highly successful youth basketball camp and a High School Summer League for the last 20 years. Coach Crampsie graduated from Panther Valley HS in 1994 and Moravian University in 1998.
Fritz Herling
Basketball
Fritz Herling hails from White Haven, Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of Weatherly Area High School ('01). During his high school years, Fritz excelled in multiple sports. In soccer, he was a 4-year starter, team captain, and earned 1st Team Schuylkill League Defense honors in. In basketball, he was a 2-year starter, a 4-year player, a 3-time letter winner, and team captain. Fritz also played baseball for one year, served as team captain. He attended East Stroudsburg University, where he studied Health and Physical Education and gained 16 years of teaching experience. He also participated in intramural basketball and softball for 4 years. In coaching, Fritz has 14 years of basketball coaching experience at the 7th-12th grade levels in Philadelphia, Weatherly, Hazleton, and Panther Valley School Districts. He also has 2 years of soccer coaching experience at the junior high level in the Weatherly School District and 1 year of high school softball coaching experience at Panther Valley School District. Currently, he is a Health and Physical Education teacher and Girls Softball Assistant Coach at PVJSHS and will be assisting with basketball programs.
Ed Kocha
Basketball
Ed Kocha, a graduate of Kutztown University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in English - Secondary Education, has been a reading teacher at Panther Valley School District since 2010. Currently, he serves as the Jr. 76ers Basketball Camp Director and Division Coordinator and previously coached at the Jr. 76ers Basketball Camp in 2021. He is the Head Coach of In The Zone Basketball Club’s AAU 13u, 14u, and 15u Platinum Team and is also the Assistant Girls’ Basketball Coach at Panther Valley. His previous experience includes coaching high school boys and girls basketball at Lehighton High School, an assistant football coach at Jim Thorpe High School, and volunteering as an assistant track coach at Marian Catholic High School. Additionally, he has coached for the Panther Valley Youth Basketball Association, Panther Valley Knee-Hi Association, and Anthracite Little League.
Jason McElmoyle
Basketball
Jason McElmoyle brings nearly two decades of high school coaching experience to the table, along with a decade of coordinating basketball camps and clinics. With 23 years as an educator, Jason’s extensive background in both teaching and coaching equips him with the skills and insight to develop young athletes both on and off the court.
Ed Wise
Basketball
Coach Eddie Wise is a graduate of Tamaqua Area HS & Bloomsburg University. His teams qualified for & won District II play-off games with 4 different high schools and he coached nine 1000 point scorers. Coach has garnered coach- of -the year awards 6 times.He has the highest winning percentage of any boy’s basketball coach in TAHS history & his 1982-83 team won the D-11 & Eastern State Championship with a record of 31-3. He has been inducted as a coach into the Tamaqua Area H S Sports Hall of fame, along with the Carbon/Schuylkill chapter of the PA Sports Hall of fame.Coach Wise has also implemented & directed youth basketball camps( grades 3-8) in association with head coaching jobs at Tamaqua, Bethlehem Freedom, & Lehighton area High Schools, along with individual player sessions. The fundamentals of all aspects of the game of basketball, along with stressing hard work & a positive attitude are stressed. He has been a PIAA District 11,4 & 2 Varsity basketball official for the last 10 years & has worked D-11 & Colonial league play- off games. Ed resides in Nesquehoning with his wife, Dana & has 2 adult daughters.