'The right time': Beaver's Huston steps down after 14 seasons at helm
For the second time in less than a month, a prominent Beaver County girls high school basketball coach has resigned.
On Monday, April 3, Steve Lodovico stepped away after coaching Blackhawk for 18 years.
Monday, Greg Huston stepped down after coaching Beaver for 14 years.
“I just felt it was time,” Huston said. “My kids are getting a bit older. My daughter is a freshman this year and my son is in sixth grade. I was missing a lot of their stuff. So I just figured it was the right time.”
Huston, who teaches social studies and science at Beaver, has led the Bobcats to the greatest moments in program history.
They lost in the WPIAL Class 4A championship game in 2018 and the Class 3A final in 2020. But then in 2021, Beaver won the WPIAL 4A title with a 45-29 win over Quaker Valley.
“To be able to win a WPIAL championship, which was the first basketball championship (boys or girls) in Beaver history, that was obviously special,” Huston said.
“It all goes back to the girls who played for us. You’re not going to win without good players. I was so fortunate in that way.”
Among the better players Huston was fortunate to coach included 2015 Beaver graduate Lexi Posset, 2018 grad Bella Posset, 2021 grad Emma Pavelek and 2022 grad Payton List. They’ll go down as four of the greatest players to play for Beaver.
Those four stars, as well as a cast of other valuable starters and role players, helped the Bobcats win consistently during Huston’s 14 years as coach.
In those 14 years, Huston’s teams went 235-100 overall. Only once did Beaver have a losing season during the Huston regime. That was in 2011 when it went 8-13.
On average, his teams went 17-7. They qualified for the WPIAL playoffs 13 times and the PIAA state playoffs eight times.
“There were a lot of ups and downs, but there were definitely more ups for us,” Huston said. “So many of our athletes came through for us and helped us win a lot of games.”
Huston says that so much of his success stems from his time he spent playing basketball at Blackhawk under legendary coach John Miller.
During Miller’s long-run at Blackhawk (1975-2004), his teams won eight WPIAL titles and four state championships.
As a junior at Blackhawk in 1999, Huston experienced the thrill of winning WPIAL and state titles. A year later as a senior, he played on a team that won another WPIAL title but lost in a state final.
“Everything I learned about basketball, I learned from John Miller,” Huston said. “I’ve always been a curious person and everything he did as a coach I soaked it up. It’s not to say I’m anything like him. My personality is about 180 degrees opposite of his.
“But from a basketball standpoint and the knowledge he instilled in us, I tried to take those things and use them in my own program. So I can certainly say everything I know started with him.”
When asked if he’ll ever coach again, Huston said it’s way too early for him to decide on his future.
That being said, Huston lives in the Blackhawk school district. His daughter Grace was a freshman on Blackhawk’s girls basketball program this season. His son Grant has shown promise as a sixth-grade basketball and baseball player.
And Blackhawk has yet to fill the vacancy created by Lodovico’s resignation.
“You know, I thought about it,” Huston said of the Blackhawk job. “It’s a possibility. I’m not being coy with you, but I really don’t know. I’ve had some people ask me about it. It’s something I have to give more thought to.
“But really, I don’t know what’s coming next.”
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: 'The right time': Beaver's Huston steps down after 14 seasons at helm
