Ed Ohlson resigns as Northampton's boys basketball coach

FROM KEITH GROLLER

Ed Ohlson has resigned as Northampton's boys basketball coach, ending an eight-season tenure that included a record of 89-106. He handed in his resignation and met with the players on Monday.

The 54-year-old Ohlson missed the end of the 2011-12 season with an esophagus-related issue that required him to be hospitalized, and he's still regaining his strength.

But he said that his health is fine and had nothing to do with his decision.

"Before the season I decided that this was my last season at Northampton," he said. "Quite frankly, for a number of reasons, I need a change. The health thing was just a bump on the road."

Ohlson, who is a senior project manager for Dunn and Bradstreet in Center Valley, said that the travel time from his offiice to Northampton was one of several factors in his decision.

But he emphasized that he'd like to coach again.

"I plan on coaching again next year," he said. "I love coaching. It don't care if it's the South Parkland 4th-graders, I want to coach. I want to work with kids and I want to help teach kids what I think is the greatest game around. As long as I can do that, I am going to do it."

Ohlson said that he believed he made progress with the Northampton program and leaves the program in good shape.

Many of the kids coming through the younger ages of the system offer a promising outlook.

Ohlson was also grateful to Northampton athletic director Mike Schneider and all of the assistant coaches he had on his staff, especially Rich Klotz and Tony Beers, who had been with him for all eight seasons.

"I really enjoyed the people I worked with and the kids were great," he said. "Even in the last few seasons when we didn't have the success that we had hoped for, we didn't have kids fighting or yelling at each other. They kept at it."

The highlight of Ohlson's Northampton stint was the 2007-08 season when the Konkrete Kids went 21-9 and reached the Lehigh Valley Conference tournament. They also advanced to the District 11 Class 4A semifinals before losing to Pocono Mountain West. The K-Kids qualified for the state tournament, losing to Central Dauphin 49-43 in the first round.

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