Northampton's head coach Coy Stampone talks to his team during timeout against Fox Chapel on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, during the PIAA Class 6A boys basketball quarterfinal at Chambersburg Area High School. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

Northampton boys basketball didn’t win a championship during Coy Stampone’s 10 seasons in charge of the program.

But by every other standard, the Konkrete Kids were one of the area’s most successful teams during Stampone’s decade in charge.

Just three weeks after leading Northampton into the PIAA Class 6A quarterfinals, where it suffered a heartbreaking 39-37 loss to (District 7 champ) Fox Chapel in the PIAA 6A quarterfinals, Stampone confirmed on Wednesday morning what had been known by most people within the program most of the past season — he is resigning.

Stampone’s teams went 107-76, reached the District 11 6A finals twice and the semifinals two other times. His teams made the state tournament three times in the last five seasons and this year went 21-8, becoming the first at the school since the 1972 district champs to win two state playoff games.

Northampton had a lead in the final minute of its game against Fox Chapel and was close to becoming the first in school history to win three PIAA games in a season, but came up just short.

Regardless, Stampone carved his niche as one of the best leaders in the area and one of the best in Konkrete Kids’ history.

“I met with Coach Stampone on Monday and he informed me of his intentions to retire,” Northampton athletic director Shaun Murray said. “It has been a pleasure working with Coy for the past seven years and his knowledge and leadership will be missed by many. He always placed his student-athletes first and his ability to mentor young athletes and place them in positions to succeed on the court and in the classroom has been greatly appreciated. We wish him well in his retirement.”

Coy Stampone's teams at Northampton went 107-76, reached the District 11 6A finals twice and the semifinals two other times. Stampone is seen here coaching his team during a game on Feb. 1, 2022, at Parkland High School. (Amy Shortell / The Morning Call)

Stampone built Northampton into a winner.

“We had many challenges in my first two years, but we went 76-50 over the last five years,” he said. “Reaching the Elite 8 in the state and beating Methacton at Methacton was very satisfying for our first state playoff win in 50 years. I gave a vision for the program, the direction, and then I let my coaches do their jobs. I valued their input and was a good listener and student of the game. Our vision was to become one of the top teams in the EPC, not just for one year but year after year.”

Stampone is a proud 1977 graduate of Bangor High School where he played for legendary coach Bill Pensyl and was the leading scorer on the first Slaters championship team. He played basketball at Kutztown University for 1½ seasons before a torn ACL ended his playing career.

“Back then it was very difficult to recover from an injury like that,” he said. “I will say that going back to play Bangor and play at Bill Pensyl Gym this past season was a lot of fun. Coach Pensyl was my mentor in how he prepared his teams and ran practices. I also admired his passion and respect for the game and how he enjoyed and still enjoys the game. He came to many Northampton games over the years and texted me before and after most games.”

Stampone spent 25 years in the business world before working the last 15 years as a business teacher at Northampton. He also was the K-12 department coordinator for the BC&T department. He’s also retiring from those positions at the end of the current school year.

“I was fortunate enough to work primarily with one company, NMB Technologies, where I ended my business career as president of their power supply division and VP of sales,” he said. “I became a teacher when I was missing too many family functions and my two sons’, Michael and Anthony, sporting events. I wanted to give back some of my business knowledge and share experiences with students and I felt I did that as a teacher.”

But Stampone had a burning desire to coach.

“Being a former high school and college player, I felt teaching was the best profession for coaching and being in the building provided many benefits in building relations with the student-athletes. It made it more convenient for practices and everything else. I have really enjoyed my second career as a teacher and coach.”

The best part of coaching?

“The competition, the challenges, the rewards, the teamwork, the relationships, working with the players ... it’s just like business,” he said. “My coaching staff was like my staff in the business world where I was taught to surround myself with good people and I had good people as assistants in Matt Scholl, Ed Seidick, Phil Hall, Tyler Nicholas, Brian Davies, Scott Johnson. Consistency in the coaching staff helped make this program successful.”

Stampone thanked the Northampton administration and his family, especially his wife, Cathy.

“She has not only been a supportive basketball wife for the last 10 to 15 years, but also was so supportive during my 25-year business career when I was traveling a lot for my job. I also want to thank my sons Michael and Anthony for their support [for my Northampton teams] even though they graduated from Nazareth and played sports there.”

Prior to coaching at Northampton, Stampone was the head coach at Pen Argyl for one season and was an assistant coach at Nazareth.

The Northampton School Board is expected to approve Stampone’s resignation next week, although they’ll likely do it with a sense of sadness because of the respect Stampone has brought to Northampton boys basketball.

Stampone will also be missed by many of his coaching colleagues in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and beyond. He said he enjoyed the competition and camaraderie and hopes to stay in touch with many of them.

Whoever inherits Stampone’s job will face a major challenge as the program will graduate eight seniors including six of its top seven players, a list headed by 1,000-point scorer Isaiah Harris and Lucas Lesko. Lesko has announced he will continue his career at Wilkes.

“We look forward to building on the foundation he and his coaching staff laid over the past 10 years,” Murray said.

We rely on the support of our subscribers to fund our journalism. If you’re not already signed up, we hope you will consider subscribing. Already a print subscriber? If you haven’t already, please activate your digital access.