Radabaugh

By Michael Boytim

mboytim@altoonamirror.com

Juniata Valley approved Elizabeth (Deihl) Radabaugh as its new high school girls basketball coach Monday at its board meeting.

Radabaugh will take over a program that has experienced plenty of recent success, including a trip to the PIAA Class 1A playoffs last season under former coach Clayton DeForrest, who stepped down after the season.

“(Co-athletic director) Bill (Musser) and I are both in agreeance, as well as the administration, that she brings a very large leadership to the role,” Juniata Valley athletic director Toby Boyd said. “She has some great outlooks on philosophies as far as student athletes go, and we felt she was the right person to lead our program into the future.”

Radabaugh played for recently retired former Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis coach Jim Swaney in high school and graduated from Tyrone in 2001. She was a member of the third-team Altoona Mirror All-Star squad in 2000-2001.

“I have wanted to be a coach for as long as I can remember,” Radabaugh said. “I have always enjoyed working with younger people and developing other skills. This opportunity came up, and it’s within the community that I live in and that I love.”

Radabaugh and her husband, Nathan, have a 7-year-old daughter named Marcy. They moved back into the area recently and took Marcy to several games last season.

“We decided to start going to some games at the high school and take my daughter to see her babysitter playing,” Radabaugh said. “As I was sitting in the stands, instead of watching the game for entertainment or my daughter’s learning, I started to think about what I was seeing and if I was the coach, what additional instructions could I be giving the players? What would my play calling be? What drills would I want to run to try and help? It got me back in the mindset of coaching and wanting to be part of that.”

The Lady Hornets made back-to-back appearances in the Class 1A championship game in 2017 and 2018, falling in competitive games to Lebanon Catholic and Jenkintown under Rachelle Hopsicker.

Hopsicker’s daughter, Maddie, will be a senior on this season’s team, which also returns incoming sophomore Anna Taylor, who averaged 9.8 points per game last season.

Juniata Valley finished 16-9 and lost in the Class 1A District 6 semifinals to Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic before rebounding to win the consolation game over Bishop Carroll to make the state playoffs.

“We have two of our top returning scorers back on the team, and I think we’re definitely going to be in contention for another playoff run this year,” Radabaugh said.

Radabaugh said she is dedicated to coaching for a long time and putting her stamp on the program.

“I’m looking forward to being part of the summer programs in the youth leagues,” Radabaugh said. “And enhancing the already strong bond between the junior high and high school teams here.”