7-time WPIAL champion coach Spencer Stefko steps down at North Allegheny
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Friday, June 14, 2024 | 4:38 PM
Spencer Stefko led North Allegheny to the WPIAL championship game in eight of his nine seasons as the team’s coach.
One of the most successful and unique coaches in WPIAL girls basketball history has resigned.
Spencer Stefko has stepped away after 18 years on the sidelines, the past nine as girls basketball coach at North Allegheny.
“I hate to lose him,” North Allegheny athletic director Bob Bozzuto said. “He was very special and would do anything we asked. He has earned a well-deserved break and we honor his wishes.”
Spencer and his wife Megan welcomed their first child, Daniel, into the world in March.
Stefko could not immediately be reached for comment.
In his career as girls basketball coach at Chartiers Valley, Seton LaSalle and North Allegheny, Stefko has a record of 410-92 with seven WPIAL championships, two with the Rebels and five with the Tigers.
His lone PIAA championship came in 2021 when North Allegheny won district and state Class 6A gold with a record of 27-1.
“It’s not about the wins and losses. It’s about his relationship with the kids,” Bozzuto said. “His nine years here were off the charts.”
Stefko had a unique style, coaching on the sidelines nearly as hard as his players were working on the floor.
In his nine years at North Allegheny, the Tigers played in eight WPIAL championship games, winning five of them.
His success does not surprise Bozzuto, who hired him after Stefko won back-to-back district titles at Seton LaSalle in 2014 and 2015.
“He’s an amazing individual,” Bozzuto said. “He allows the student-athletes to be involved in all aspects of the team. He gives his players a great deal of say and that develops a great team relationship. In the end, the team culture becomes a huge, positive experience for these kids.
“He develops his players physically, psychologically and socially.”
This past season, North Allegheny finished with a record of 23-4, losing to Norwin in the WPIAL title game and falling to North Penn in the PIAA second round.
Stefko will remain as a social studies teacher at the North Allegheny Intermediate High School.
“He’ll still be around,” Bozzuto said. “But those will be some huge shoes to fill.”
Tags: North Allegheny
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