- Parkland has approved the appointment of Edward “Eddie” Ohlson Jr. as the new varsity boys basketball coach, alongside Andrew “Andy” Stephens, who will be moving on as the district’s new athletic director
- Both Ohlson and Stephens are longtime members of the Parkland family and are looking forward to their new roles
- Bill Dreisbach, the district's current director, retires this fall
NORTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — As one athletic director heads off into the sunset, Parkland is welcoming some talented up-and-comers to their stellar roster this season.
On July 18, the Parkland School Board appointed Edward “Eddie” Ohlson Jr. as the new varsity boys basketball coach, replacing Andrew “Andy” Stephens, who will be moving on as the district’s new athletic director when Bill Dreisbach retires in September.
Ohlson previously served as a Parkland High School physical education teacher and has been coaching the school’s basketball staff since 2009 when he was appointed junior varsity and assistant varsity coach.
Prior to that, he was a successful student basketball player at Parkland from 2000 to 2004, leading the team to the state tournament. After that, he went on to DeSales University, where he led the team in free throw percentages, assists, and steals. He made team MVP in his junior and senior years and earned First Team All-Conference honors during his final year.
“It feels great,” Ohlson said of becoming the Trojans' head coach. “I’ve been with the program for 13 years, started as a volunteer assistant, moved up to JV coach, transitioned to assistant varsity coach, and now I’m able to take over the program.”
“Eddie brings a great deal of experience to our basketball program. His dedication to both our school and basketball program makes him a perfect fit to continue the great tradition we have here in Parkland."Retiring Parkland Athletic Director Bill Dreisbach
Ohlson also noted he was excited about Stephens’ promotion as well and being able to continue working with him even after 13 years together.
Having such a strong connection also helps with the transition, Ohlson said.
“Well, you know, the nice part about being with Andy for so long is I was in on a lot of the decision-making over the last couple of years and, you know, there will be some changes a little bit from a strategy standpoint,” Ohlson said.
“But for the most part, everything's going to be running fairly the same – the coaching staff is all going to be the same. We are adding one coach, Eric Zuber, to be the head JV coach, but everyone else is staying on. So the transition should be nice and smooth.”
Ohlson’s responsibilities will include scheduling scrimmages and games, conducting workouts, tournaments, and practices, and guiding students in the right direction.
Freshman coaches Zuber and BJ Duggan, along with assistant coaches Austin Beidelman and Paul Stewart, will be on board to help Ohlson with his mission.
Ohlson is looking forward to taking on new responsibilities at Parkland, where he continues to teach physical education and health at the high school.
“So it's great being back, especially as an alumni, and just getting back to my comfortable roots. You know, the best part about Parkland is the people that are involved. So getting to work with a lot of people that are involved is super exciting,” Ohlson said, adding he looks forward to adding his “own little flair on the program.”
“Eddie brings a great deal of experience to our basketball program. His dedication to both our school and basketball program makes him a perfect fit to continue the great tradition we have here in Parkland. We congratulate him on his promotion and know he will make a great new leader of the boys’ basketball program,” Dreisbach said.
Stephens, who has been a social studies teacher and basketball coach in addition to serving as an assistant athletic director, said he is enthusiastic to get into his new role as a full-time athletic director.
“Although I have kind of gotten started the last couple of weeks, my official start date was August 1, but I had been coming in pretty often in July just to kind of get in the groove. And yeah, I'm enthusiastic and optimistic about the position and the opportunity,” Stephens said.
Going forward, Stephens will be focused on taking care of the student athletes and the coaches, in addition to enhancing lines of communication between athletes, families, and the community.
While he’ll miss teaching and coaching, Stephens said he couldn’t miss out on the opportunity for a new position.
And while he finds the athletic department at Parkland to be in a good position, he looks forward to putting his own touch on the program.
“You want to make your mark and you want to make improvements. I haven't really figured all that out yet, but I definitely want to keep the ship afloat and moving in the right direction, because of the success that we've had,” Stephens said.
“I do have some ideas, but if I could make some improvements here and there, you know, just to kind of even keep up with the times, whether it be technology or special help for our student-athletes, then I'm very receptive to being open and new ideas from a lot of different people that have contacted me in emails and so on,” Stephens said.
Some potential changes include bringing in outsiders to assist students with academic or other issues, but “I’m just getting started,” as Stephens puts it, so there is plenty of room to grow.
