Three years ago Dan Eddinger took the head coaching job for the Northwestern boys basketball team and began to rebuild the program.

Someone else is going to have to continue the process this winter as last Wednesday Eddinger resigned from his position after finishing 5-17 overall this past season and going 14-52 during his three years in New Tripoli.

"After meeting with [Northwestern Athletic Director] Jason [Zimmerman] we talked about a lot of things, in detail, and I decided that I want to do what's best for the kids at Northwestern. I want to do what's best for myself and my family.

"Ultimately I decided that a new voice needs to be heard."

Eddinger and his staff have spoken for three years as they tried to resurrect the Tiger basketball program. There was an immediate improvement over the previous season, as Northwestern had gone 1-21 in the 2010-11 season, the year before Eddinger took over.

The Central Catholic alum reserves judgment on his impact for a little farther down the road, as the lower level teams have had winning seasons the last two years.

"I think every coach would like to say that they left a program in a better position," Eddinger admitted. "I think I did, but only time will tell if I really made an impact on the program. I'll know in the next couple of years whether my staff and I had something to do with that if they start winning."

Zimmerman would like to see a turnaround soon, but he knows that Eddinger did a lot to help them be where the team is now.

"Coach Eddinger is a good person and took over a program three years ago that struggled immensely," Zimmerman said in a press release. "He has done a decent job trying to build our program back up and to be competitive in the Colonial League, but the task has proven extremely difficult due to many variables."

Eddinger, 36, noted that Zimmerman and his staff were extremely supportive of him and his efforts as he tried to install a basketball culture in New Tripoli and he reciprocated that encouragement.

"Coach Eddinger brought many new ideas to the table and always demanded class and sportsmanship from his players and coaching staff," Zimmerman said in the release. "Often times, coach Eddinger was seen on the campus of Northwestern Lehigh cheering on the student-athletes of all sports, not just basketball. Northwestern Lehigh wishes to thank Coach Eddinger for his years of service and we wish him and his family the best of luck with their future endeavors."

The former CCHS and Bethlehem Catholic assistant isn't ruling out a return to coaching, even as soon as this winter.

"Certainly if there are jobs that are open that I feel I can compete in, I'll consider applying for them," he said. "I'm not necessarily in a hurry where something has to be this year. I'm not in a rush."