ADAMS TWP — With 518 career and a state championship, the record of Mars girls basketball coach Dana Petruska speaks for itself.

But in her view, parents spoke up too much.

Petruska, 66, cited parental interference as the prime reason why she recently decided to retire from high school coaching after 35 seasons.

“From a basketball standpoint, no, I’m not ready to give it up,” Petruska said. “I wanted to keep coaching. But the parents shouting from the stands, yelling the kids need a rest or put so-and-so back in ... I’ve had enough.”

Petruska recalled her second season at Mars, when the parent of a freshman on the team came to the front door of her home with his daughter, upset because the girl did not receive a varsity uniform.

“I could handle that sort of thing when I was younger,” Petruska said. “My skin’s getting a little thin here.”

The Lady Planets finished 18-9 this past season, including 9-3 in section play, despite dealing with a number of injuries. Mars played 15 games that, win or lose, were decided by eight points or fewer.

Petruska described herself as an old-school coach.

“It’s the same thing ... when the team is winning by a wide margin and everybody gets playing time in the game, I didn’t hear a word,” she said. “Everybody’s happy. But this year wasn’t like that.

“We had so many close games. Parents would yell from the stands that ‘this girl or that girl is tired, put in some subs,’ when we’d be up by two points. If I had done that, we’d be down by 10 just like that. People just didn’t get it. We’re trying to win the game.

“I played the girls who earned the playing time, who worked hard in practice, made the extra effort. There’s a sense of entitlement today. The only thing a student is entitled to is an education. Extra-curricular activities, including athletics, you have to earn your way,” she said.

Petruska experienced disappointment as a basketball parent herself. Her son, Jimmy, was cut from the Mars boys basketball team his sophomore year.

“I remember riding home with him in the car. He was devastated. I asked if he was going to feel sorry for himself or prove everybody wrong. Getting cut changed his work ethic. He played his junior and senior years and now is a successful Division III basketball coach (at Saint Vincent College).

“If he wasn’t cut that year, I don’t think he turns out that way. Sports provide life lessons. Parents today don’t seem to get that.”

Mars athletic director Zack Matusak is in his second year in that position after spending a number of years working in collegiate athletics. He said parental comments from the stands were not evident at college sporting events.

“I never saw any of it there,” he said of college. “I can’t say I directly witnessed anything here, but you never know. Dana is a phenomenal coach. Her knowledge of the sport, X’s and O’s, are unmatched. No one can argue with the record she compiled.”

Petruska was one of three active WPIAL girls basketball coaches with more than 500 career wins this past season, joining Neshannock’s Luann Grybowski and North Catholic’s Molly Rottmann.

All three of her sons played basketball. Jimmy Petruska continues to coach at Saint Vincent and David Petruska coached girls basketball at Deer Lakes for five seasons. Petruska coached at Mars for 27 years and at Deer Lakes for eight.

She said one final incident made her decide to close the book on her career.

“It was a closed door meeting with the administration and parents when a parent accused me of intentionally trying to lose a game,” Petruska said. “Anyone who knows me knows how ridiculous that is. I never let my kids win a board game at home. You have to earn it.

“When I was accused of that, I was done.”

Matusak is getting married soon and will be taking some time off. When he returns to the job in mid-May, he will begin scheduling interviews for the girls basketball coaching position.

“We have already received plenty of resumes,” he said. “Once the interviews are complete, we’ll hire a coach shortly thereafter.

“Every time I walked by the gym, Dana was in there, coaching and teaching. Her leadership and dedication were impressive. We’re really going to miss that.”

Commitment is a word Petruska does not take lightly.

“All the years I coached, I scheduled family vacations and family time around my work schedule,” she said. “That type of commitment is a little lost today. I don’t get that same commitment back. They come and go as they please.

“Leaving like this, because of this ... It’s heartbreaking. But I’m not going back. I just can’t.”