Burchett resigns as McGuffey girls basketball coach
It all began with a plan. When Amanda Burchett was hired to resurrect McGuffey High School’s girls varsity basketball team prior to the 2009 season, she wanted to overhaul the program from top to bottom.
That required her to coach both the varsity and middle school teams. It was a challenge that consumed 10 months a year and countless hours in the evening. The result was a six-year stretch that is the best in school history, including the program’s first state playoff victory and three trips to the PIAA tournament.
It was a run that officially came to an end Thursday night when the McGuffey School Board accepted Burchett’s resignation. She had 83 victories, including 60 over the past three seasons.
The accolades and accomplishments rolled in, but the plan took its toll on Burchett, who submitted her letter of resignation to athletic director Ed Dalton March 30. She is looking to spend more time with her 12-year-old son, Julian.
“I knew this was going to be a tough job and that I’d have to take the time to put in my system,” Burchett said. “I coached varsity and middle school for three years, which was a lot. That’s six years of missing things for my own child and other family functions. The timing felt right to me.”
The Highlanders were 20-9 this season and reached the WPIAL quarterfinals in their return to Class AAA. They prevailed in a PIAA play-in game to reach the state playoffs, defeating section rival South Fayette in the first round for the program’s first PIAA state playoff win. Three seniors, including California University recruit and three-time Observer-Reporter Player of the Year Sammie Weiss, Rachel Czulewicz and Lauren Crimm, saw their high school careers end with a loss to West Perry in the second round.
Despite the strong season, Burchett’s resignation did not come as a surprise to Dalton. In Burchett’s interview following the 2013-14 season, she mentioned she might be done after one more year.
“Her son is getting older, she wants to be involved in his activities and obviously that’s a matter of personal choice,” Dalton said. “I wouldn’t begrudge anyone for wanting to spend more time with their family. I don’t know how you define a golden age, but McGuffey girls basketball has won 60 games in three years. I don’t know if that’s happened here before. My hat is off to the job she did.”
The vacancy was posted internally and the district is hoping to move quickly to find Burchett’s replacement.
McGuffey reached the WPIAL quarterfinals and the PIAA playoffs for three consecutive seasons, losing in the state tournament on buzzer-beating shots the past two seasons. Though the ending was not ideal, Burchett, a 1997 Trinity graduate and special education teacher at Trinity Middle School, is pleased with what she accomplished. It was a journey that began with juggling two jobs and overseeing the development of the Class of 2015, which speerheaded the program’s rise to prominence.
“I set a goal for myself to do the best I can and I accomplished that,” Burchett said. “My assistant, Bobbi Belleville, and I tailored our system to the personnel and we created something special. Those seasons will be some of the greatest memories for the kids when you look at the big games we played in.”
As for coaching again, Burchett is not discounting a return to the basketball court.
“I am always looking forward to new opportunties,” Burchett said.