PIAA basketball: Slippery Rock girls coach Jeff Steele facing former youth coach in Class 4A first round vs Oakland Catholic
In his first season as head coach of Slippery Rock girls basketball, Jeff Steele has guided the team to the state playoffs. When his Rockets take the court Saturday in a PIAA Class 4A first-round playoff at Oakland Catholic, opposing him will be someone from his past.
The Eagles are led by Henry Schechter, who coached Steele's Pony League baseball team in Slippery Rock in 1985.
Schechter moved back to Pennsylvania seven months ago after living in Virginia for three decades.
“It had been 35 years since I had any contact with him,” said Steele, who guided Slippery Rock to a fourth-place finish in District 10 this season. “We have a mutual friend on Facebook and began messaging each other in 2022. It was great to reconnect with him.”
Schechter was a tennis star at Slippery Rock University in the mid-1980s. He still holds the program record for career victories. While at The Rock, he befriended a family that was involved in youth baseball in Slippery Rock. That connection led to him coaching Steele's team 40 years ago.
Steele was a pitcher and infielder on the team, which competed in the Butler County Pony League.
“It's not easy dealing with junior high boys, all of the things that come with that,” Steele said, “but Henry made practices fun. I remember those days fondly.”
Schechter coached a number of high school basketball teams while living near Richmond, most recently the girls team at James River High School. While there, the team won multiple region titles and Schechter was named State Coach of the Year, winning 129 games in seven seasons.
The native of Squirrel Hill planned on moving back home, but knew he wasn't through with coaching.
“There were several (WPIAL) schools that had coaching openings and Oakland Catholic seemed to be the best fit,” Schechter said. “I was hired in May and moved to Pittsburgh in August.”
Saturday's meeting will pit a pair of first-year coaches with their respective programs, but that is not the only thing the two teams have in common.
Steele, a 1991 graduate of Slippery Rock High, has installed a fast-paced strategy that has helped the Rockets to an 18-7 record thus far.
“They play a style very similar to us,” he said. “Not many teams have tried to match our pace and it's going to be a test for us to stay with them.
“Earlier this season, I looked at the state bracket, saw where teams from different districts would be placed and remember thinking, 'Wouldn't it be crazy if we played Oakland?'”
Oakland Catholic (23-3) won its seventh District 7 title by defeating Blackhawk last Saturday.
“We had just one returning starter from last year, didn't play over the summer or fall, so a lot of this was brand new to our girls,” Schechter said. “We lost two of our first three games, but that didn't worry me. I knew it was going to take time for the team to learn the system and the key was to be playing our best when the games mattered most.
“Jeff’s got a scrappy team. There’s two really good players (CJ Sabo and Madison Romanovich) who do most of their scoring.”
Slippery Rock was a combined 10-34 the last two seasons. Steele has turned the program around in just one season.
“We've tried to instill a winning attitude with the players and I feel we have a blueprint for success moving forward,” he said. “I'm excited for the challenge our girls have this weekend of facing a team with so much tradition.”
