By Tom Robinson, NEPASportsNation.com
Dunmore athletic director Mark Finan is returning to the bench.
The Dunmore School Board appointed Finan as the head boys basketball coach during its Wednesday night meeting, putting him in position to add to his 29-year basketball coaching career.
Finan will continue in his role as athletic director. He spends mornings in the classroom at Dunmore as a math teacher and typically handles his AD duties in the afternoon.
“My feeling was this, out of all three seasons, the winter was the only one where it’s practical with the AD job to be a coach in our school district,” said Finan, who has coached sports in all three seasons in the past. “The fall and the spring, you are just too busy with so many different activities.”
When the Dunmore administration was surprised by Kevin Clark’s resignation to spend more time with his growing family, Finan saw a chance to resume his lengthy coaching career.
“For me to be able to get this opportunity to get back into coaching and to lead this program. I’m very excited,” he said. “So, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. John Marichak, our superintendent; Mr. Tim Hopkins, our principal; and the Board of Education for giving me this opportunity to lead this Bucks boys basketball program.
“I’m very grateful.”
When the job last opened, prior to the selection of Clark as coach four years ago, Finan “was only in the athletic director job two years and I didn’t know yet whether I missed coaching or not.”
Over time, he did.
Finan first coached at Bishop Hannan High School, the Scranton school that is now part of Holy Cross in Dunmore, in 1988. After starting with two seasons as boys freshman coach, he spent four as junior varsity coach and two as head coach.
After going 33-18 in his two seasons as Bishop Hannan head coach, FInan went 105-93 in eight seasons at North Pocono, winning a Lackawanna League Division 1 title in the 2000-01 season.
At Dunmore, Finan was the varsity baseball coach for nine years, an assistant baseball coach for nine years, the head golf coach for six years, the JV/assistant varsity boys basketball coach for 10 seasons, a freshman basketball coach for two seasons and a junior high coach for one. He also was a JV baseball coach for six seasons during his time at Bishop Hannan.
“As the years progressed, I really felt that basketball was the one I missed the most,” Finan said. “I coached three sports at Dunmore High School for years, so I’m not unaccustomed to being busy.
“I was the golf coach and the baseball coach at one time while being the assistant basketball coach.”
Finan said he felt like he “still had something to offer” and decided to put his name in when the job opened.
