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North Xtra: Edleman steps down as Hampton's coach
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Hampton High School boys lacrosse coach Greg Edleman has resigned after leading the Talbots to two WPIAL Division 2 titles in the three years he has coached the program.
Edleman tendered his resignation on June 27 to Bill Cardone, the school's athletic director.
"This was a hard decision," said Edleman, who said he and his wife are expecting their first child -- a boy -- in October. "That was one reason. But the main reason is that I wanted to finish my master's degree in public management."
The decision came about five weeks after the Talbots defeated Greensburg Central Catholic, 16-7, for the WPIAL Division 2 championship.
Edleman, a McCandless resident, has been working toward his master's degree since 2004 while coaching, and he's also the associate director of admissions at Carnegie Mellon University.
Edleman had been pushing for Hampton to join the more competitive Division 1 classification in the WPIAL.
That will happen next spring as the team will be joining Division 1 Section 2, which features teams from Seneca Valley, Shady Side Academy, Pine-Richland, Franklin Regional, North Allegheny and Fox Chapel.
To say Edleman has mixed emotions about his decision is a huge understatement.
"I pushed for [the switch to Division1], [the WPIAL] gave it to us, and now I'm walking away from it," he said. "This was a super-hard decision. I wanted to see what this class of rising seniors would do. But they don't need me to be successful."
Edleman, 33, has been coaching lacrosse for 10 years. He began coaching at Seneca Valley and had two stints at Winchester Thurston sandwiched around some time spent at North Allegheny.
He became the Hampton coach in 2010, leading the team to a WPIAL runner-up finish that season before winning two consecutive titles in 2011 and '12.
Edleman hopes to return to coaching at some point.
"[Coaching] is a big part of my life, and my wife's life, too," he said. "I'd like to get back into coaching in the not-too-distant future. Obviously, Hampton would be my top choice, but I consider that to be the top coaching job in the WPIAL, so whoever gets the job isn't going to give it up."
Edleman said the new coach and the team will have even more support next season.
"I told the guys in my goodbye email that they may have lost a coach, but they just gained three new fans with my wife, child and me," he said. "We'll be at every game."
First Published July 12, 2012 12:00 am
