Tom Gallagher steps down as Allen's girls basketball coach

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER Tom Gallagher said it was a tough decision and he agonized over it for a long time. But Gallagher, a fixture on the local basketball scene for four decades, has resigned as Allen's girls basketball coach. He told the team in an emotional meeting on Thursday. Gallagher coached the Chicks for the last seven seasons, going 98-78, but 0-22 in the past year. The highlight for Gallagher was winning the District 11 4A championship in 2008 and advancing to the state semis with a team that finished 26-6. "It's tough to say I am quitting, but my wife [Sherry] is retiring in June and I just thought it was time," Gallagher said. "It certainly was a great run, not only with the high school, but also with the Lehigh Valley League which I helped to get started back in the mid-1980s. All in all, it was a very rewarding 38 years involved with girls basketball. "I got to meet a lot of nice people; opposing players and coaches, the officials, the scorekeepers, the timers, people at the refreshment stand, everybody ... it was a wonderful experience. I was really blessed." Gallagher said he was proud to have had a hand in the development of so many great players, helping them get started at the youth level. "I coached Jackie Adamshick, Cari-Lynn Piotrowski, Shelly Bowers ... so many great ones," Gallagher said. Tom got started in youth basketball while coaching his daughter, Kelly, a beloved young lady who died in 1988 at age 19 after a valiant fight against leukemia. For 21 years (Kelly's number was 21), the Gallaghers ran a memorial golf tournament at Shepherd Hills in Kelly's honor and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help others. In fact, they helped to fund the Kelly Gallagher Atrium in the cancer center at Lehigh Valley Hospital. As for his Allen tenure, the 65-year-old Gallagher Tom Gallaghersaid he was actually going to resign last year, but said many of the girls wanted him to stay and he didn't want to leave with the perception being that the cupboard was bare. He said that despite its winless record last year, Allen has some good players returning and there's hope for a turnaround. "Not that they're going to win a lot of games, but I really believe that they are going to much more competitive," he said. "We would have won some games last year, but I had to discipline kids. I started with 22 girls and ended up with 14. The one thing I've always stressed at Allen is that you've got to be respectful. You have to go to school and be a good citizen. If you're not, you're not going to play. "Up until this past season, I was very fortunate and had great kids at Allen. I had very few problems." Allen athletic director Scott Cooperman understood Gallagher's decision but encouraged him to stay involved in some capacity, perhaps working within the feeder system. "I want to get something going, either working in the feeder system for the next coach or possibily working with Special Olympics," he said. "I think that would be rewarding, I really do." Whatever Gallagher does, he will have the blessing of his wife Sherry. "In all the years I have been coaching, she has never complained about having early dinners, late dinners, late phone calls, having to pick kids up, whatever," Gallagher said. "The kids at Allen loved her. She loved to bring food for them. In a job like this, if you don't have the support of your wife, you can't do it." Gallagher said he planned to still attend games and offer his support and encouragement. "Depending on who the new coach is, I don't want him looking over his shoulder at me and thinking I am second-guessing him," Gallagher said. "That wouldn't be right. But I do want to still see the games and see how the girls are doing." Gallagher's departure creates the second opening in girls basketball in the Allentown School District. Dieruff dismissed Steve Middleton at the end of last season and, at last report, was nearing the end of the process to name his succesor.