Jan 21, 2018 4 min read

When Belle Vernon High School boys basketball coach Kyle DeGregorio found he was losing a key assistant coach for this season, he had a lengthy list of potential replacements.

But he found the replacement in the very gymnasium that his team plays in.

Shara Kapr, a physical education teacher at Belle Vernon, has been a well-respected coach in the area for years. She became one of the few females to be a coach of males in the WPIAL.

“The position had been posted but I didn’t really think about it,” said Kapr. “A few days later, I have a voicemail from Coach D asking if we could talk but I figured he was asking me about something else and not to coach.”

It turned out DeGregorio wanted to know if Kapr would be interested in coaching a boys team.

“We met the following week, for about an hour, (to talk) about our philosophies and experiences after which he asked me if I would like to join the family,” Kapr said.

DeGregorio said there was a lot to like about Kapr.

“I had interviewed a lot of great people,” he said. “She has been a head coach and an assistant, knows the kids and is in the school during the day, which is important. She will be a great secondary leader with our program.”

Kapr is well-respected within the district and athletic department.

“I spoke to a lot of people in the district and every single one spoke highly of her,” DeGregorio said. “She is a quality person, knows the game of basketball and is able to start practices while I commute from my job. I didn’t want to have to hire someone who I would have to constantly tell them what to do.

“She is in charge of our goal-setting, pre-practice and dynamic warmup.”

Kapr began her coaching career with the 2003-04 season as a girls varsity basketball assistant at James Wood High School in Winchester, Va. She was the Belle Vernon girls varsity assistant from 2006-2010 and the middle school assistant from 2007-2010.

She was the Frazier girls varsity head coach from 2011 through 2014 before resigning. She wasn’t out of coaching for very long as she was hired as the Yough girls middle school coach in 2014-2015.

Kapr is enjoying her return to Belle Vernon.

“It is amazing,” she said. “Coaching has been one of the biggest blessings in my life and to be back home with some of the greatest kids I’ve ever had the pleasure of teaching is like winning the lottery.

“These kids are so dedicated and hard-working, but most important, good people.”

When asked whether he had any reservations about hiring a woman to fill a position coaching boys, considering how rare it is, DeGregorio said that wasn’t even a thought.

“I have the responsibility to surround my kids with good people and I never had a concern about hiring Shara,” he said. “She has a great bond with the kids and they have the utmost respect for her.”

Belle Vernon athletic director Matt Humbert supported DeGregorio’s decision to hire Kapr.

“Having someone so well-respected and knowledgeable shows what kind of person and coach she is,” he said. “I am glad that she is back coaching here in the district.”

Seniors Derek Thomas and Joe Sabolek said that Kapr has been a positive addition to the Leopards’ coaching staff.

“Coach Kapr is a great fit for our program,” Thomas said. “She has a strong understanding of basketball and fitness in general and I am excited to play for her.”

“It is different, and I was surprised that she was hired because she is a woman but now I don’t even think about it,” Sabolek said. “She gets practices started at lightening up the mood, which always helps.

“She is someone we all feel comfortable going to.”

As Kapr started off with a smile into the far corner of the gym that she spends teaching five days a week, one could see how happy she is to be coaching at BV again.

“It feels so good to be back,” she said. “I really am lucky.”