Hempfield hires Brush as girls basketball coach

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, September 18, 2018 | 5:36 PM

Tom Brush has coached basketball at various high schools, most recently as an assistant girls coach at Franklin Regional.

Hempfield Area school board members voted 9-0 late Monday to name him the new girls coach to replace Lindsy Muchnock, who left when she secured a teaching position at a school in Ohio. Last month, Ringgold named her its new girls basketball coach.

Brush, 46, was the girls coach at Class AA East Allegheny from 2006-08 and then again in 2010. He compiled a 46-45 record, and his Wildcats made the playoffs in 2007 and ‘09. His final season was in 2011, after returning from a one-year absence because of his job, and the Wildcats were 6-12.

He also was a volunteer boys coach at Trinity Christian.

“I’m excited,” Brush said. “There is a lot of potential at Hempfield, and I like the challenge of the new section.”

But that’s only half of Brush’s challenge.

He must rebuild a program that has seen participation diminish since Gene Brisbane left in 2010. Brisbane had built a solid program from the elementary level to the high school, but the various teams have decreased in numbers under the past three coaches.

“We want Tom to restore the program to where it was when Gene left,” Hempfield athletic director Greg Meisner said. “We had a strong youth program, three middle school teams and a freshman team. Now we have one seventh- grade team, one eighth-grade team and the freshmen are playing with the high school. We need to get the numbers back up.”

Brush said he knows he has to get involved with the youth programs to help build a winning program.

“I want to make sure the younger kids are learning the skills they need to be successful and how to play the game correctly,” Brush said. “One of the first things I teach is how to play man-to-man defense. All the kids need to be taught that.

“I was looking to get back into the high school level and the head coach needs to be active within the program. It’s going to be a challenge.”

Brush said he’s not worried about the late start. He’s eager to get started and help Hempfield return to the postseason.

The Spartans finished 12-12 last season and lost to Peters Township in the quarterfinals.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paul at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Hempfield