Bald Eagle Area picks Darin Hazel to lead girls’ basketball program

Darin Hazel joked about his coaching track record when he interviewed for the coaching vacancy at Bald Eagle Area. He hears about it elsewhere, too.

“It’s a running joke when I see coaches,” Hazel said. “Which school am I going to coach at next in Centre County?”

While BEA may be the fourth county school at which he has coached, he still was the right person for the job.

Hazel was confirmed by the BEA school board at its monthly meeting Thursday night to lead the Lady Eagle basketball program.

“He’ll take all those years of coaching,” BEA athletic director Doug Dyke said, “with all the things he’s done good and all the things he hasn’t done well and put it into our program.”

Hazel takes over for Jim Josefik, who led the program for two seasons. The Lady Eagles struggled to a 1-19 season this past school year and are five years removed from their last winning record.

Dyke sees the potential in his school’s hallways, but a bigger commitment to the sport of basketball will be needed to make the team competitive again.

“When you’re struggling, it’s not as fun,” Dyke said. “We have some athletes playing, but they may be working on their soccer skills more than their basketball skills.”

Hazel, who played basketball at Juniata College, has the resume — 187 career wins over 14 seasons — to give the program a chance.

Hazel has five-year stretches as the head of the boys’ programs at Bellefonte and his alma mater, Penns Valley. In between, he guided the Bellefonte girls for four seasons, leading the Lady Raiders to 22 wins in 2008, a District 6 title and a trip to the PIAA quarterfinals.

His time coaching the Red Raider boys ended after the 2015-16 season, posting a 7-17 record. This past school year he coached the State College Gray ninth-grade team.

He also was an assistant coach with the BEA softball team each of the last two seasons, and Dyke got positive reviews from the girls on that team — with several potentially joining the Lady Eagles on the basketball court.

“He has a lot of experience,” Dyke said. “The kids that have been in softball that we got to talk to seemed to like him. He’s the one they felt most comfortable with when we put all the information together.”

While he appreciates the humor of coaching at yet another school in the county, Hazel — who is still in needed of assistant coaches — also acknowledges how much he wanted to be back on the bench leading a program.

“When you play the game of basketball and live the game of basketball, basketball’s always been in my blood,” Hazel said. “I feel like I’ve got a lot left in the tank.

“That’s what happens to coaches. You’ve got to get out of it and then you miss it even if you’re a week into missing it.”

With a three-year-old son and another expected for him and his wife in a few weeks, he also is looking forward to having his children learn the game. He has seen many fellow coaches bring their children to school for practices and have them around the game, and he wants that for his boys.

“It’s one of those things that I’ve wanted to do,” Hazel said. “I want that bond with my son in the game of basketball. I’m looking forward to that.”

While basketball may be deeply ingrained in Hazel’s life, he also steals a little of his coaching philosophy from Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson, encouraging his student-athletes to work hard but have fun.

Having already held a few open gym sessions with potential team members, Hazel hopes that philosophy helps turn things around for the Lady Eagles.

“I’m very passionate for the kids I coach,” he said. “I’m going to work my tail off for them.”

This story was originally published July 13, 2017 at 8:28 PM with the headline "Bald Eagle Area picks Darin Hazel to lead girls’ basketball program."