New coach, 24, looks to bring bolt of energy to Greensburg Salem boys basketball

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Wednesday, September 14, 2022 | 4:18 PM

When he played high school basketball at Norwin, Cam Auld was a shooting guard who fired up 3-pointers.

When he arrived at Waynesburg, he morphed into something else: a stretch forward who later took on a role as a screener, cutter and rebounder.

And something else happened along the way. His voice got louder.

“I was never a point guard, but I had a role where I kind of did the dirty work,” Auld said. “I always had a coaching mentality. I tried to be a coach on the floor.”

Now, he will be a coach at Greensburg Salem.

Auld, 24, a 2016 Norwin graduate, was hired Wednesday night to lead the school’s boys basketball team.

He replaces Mark Zahorchak, who resigned after four seasons with the Golden Lions.

The team will drop from WPIAL Class 6A to a more enrollment-appropriate 4A next season.

“When I was a senior at Waynesburg, we had six freshmen and a couple sophomores on the team, and (leading them) kind of came natural to me,” Auld said. “I knew I wanted to get into coaching.”

The freshman boys basketball coach last year at Norwin under varsity coach Lance Maha, Auld was set to take over the junior varsity reins at Norwin this winter.

But then he heard about the opening at Greensburg Salem. This was his chance to have a program of his own.

“We had an open gym at Norwin and we were walking out of the gym, and coach Maha asked me if I heard about the Greensburg Salem opening,” Auld said. “I was pretty focused on and excited about the Norwin promotion, but that kind of opened my eyes. It became an attractive opportunity for me at that point. I had confidence in myself, but for someone else to have that same confidence in me, that makes you feel good.

“I am excited to be a head coach. I know I won’t be able to look around for help because I am the guy in charge. But I am looking forward to it.”

Maha believes Auld’s attention to detail will benefit Greensburg Salem, a program that did not win a section game in two years in 6A.

The Golden Lions were 0-20 in section and 3-32 playing in the WPIAL’s largest class. They played up to reduce travel and play more local teams. Some say the plan backfired. Others say, at least they tried.

Auld also coached one year at Waynesburg and another at Waynesburg Central High School.

“Cam is a solid tactician who does a great job relating to the kids while still holding them accountable,” Maha said. “He will do a great job.”

Auld, who works for data placement business InfoBate in Green Tree, called his first head coaching venture a challenge.

“I know when I was in high school, at least as a freshman and sophomore, Greensburg Salem was a competitive program,” Auld said. “Some people might look at what I am doing and scoff. But it excites me. I am a younger coach who wants to bring a bolt of energy to the program.”

Auld isn’t putting much stock into the drop to 4A.

“It doesn’t present any comfort,” Auld said. “You still have to play the team across from you. It’s not going to be any harder, but it’s not going to be any easier. I want to be creative and do some different things. I want to teach with freedom and open their minds a little bit.”

Ultimately, Auld said, he wants his players to be clones of him when he played.

“I want to have guys who care about one another and play hard for the team,” he said. “That is what I tried to do when I played the game.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Greensburg Salem