Eight years ago, Coy Stampone knew he had a tough job ahead at Northampton.

He had five overall wins in his first two seasons.

The questions abounded, and the jury was out. Yet, Stampone was convinced he had to stay the course.

“We wanted to come here and set a new culture, and we had a new coaching style,” reflected the veteran head coach. “We didn’t think we had enough guys we could put out there, and we thought about bringing some seventh and eighth graders up to varsity.

“We needed some structure.”

Eight years later, Stampone developed the program into one of the elite in the Lehigh Valley as well as the state. The Konkrete Kids recently completed a storybook 21-8 season and advanced to the Eight Elite for the first time since 1972.

Stampone recently resigned after a successful 10-year run in which he compiled an overall 107-76 mark. He also will end his teaching career at the school in June.

To his credit, Stampone posted a sterling 97-37 mark over the past eight seasons.

“When you can walk into the gym and the captains already have practice underway, you know you have a program,” noted Stampone. “That’s also when you know that it is all worthwhile.

“I am proud of what we were able to accomplish. The boys were able to go on to bigger and better things.

“We all worked hard to get to this point. It was the coaches, players, administration, and the community alway supported us.”

Stampone has a myriad of memories with the Kids’ program, but some will always stay with him.

“I remember going to Methacton in the state playoffs, and we were in the gym at 6 p.m.,” he said. “Five minutes later, it was packed with a loud crowd. We knew it would be a tough environment, but we got through it.

“I also remember going to Easton Middle School to play East Stroudsburg South in our first district championship game. I walked into the gym and saw a sea of orange in the stands. I remember having chills.

“There was the game at Becahi when we beat them at the buzzer on Aiden Elwood’s shot. We had the buzzer beaters in the playoffs this year, and we were a minute away from beating Fox Chapel and getting to the Final Four.”

Varsity assistant and head JV coach Matt Scholl has been alongside Stampone for his entire 10-year ride, and he realized the impact Stampone had in the program. School was the freshman coach for the first two years.

“Everyone has seen the improvement in wins and the recent success of the program, but not everyone got to see how much Coy did for his players and students. The players in the program have been successful on the court, but they also have grown in the classroom and have gone on to success in college.

“Coy has been a tremendous ambassador for our school and for basketball in the Lehigh Valley. I consider myself lucky to have had great coaches as a player and now to have worked with one of the best to do it in Coach Stampone.”

Volunteer assistant coach Ed Seidick credited Stampone for his ability to make everyone around him feel good about themselves.

“Coy has an amazing ability to make every member of the team feel valued,” said Seidick. “He was able to get the best effort out of both staff and players as it was never about him. It was about the team.

“His passion for the game and the kids was always evident to those watching, but I most value the things that aren’t seen by the public. The side discussions and jokes, the thousands of text messages back and forth while studying film at home, and the friendship among coaches. It is cliché, but it is true. Coy is a great coach, but he is a better person.”

Catasauqua head boys’ basketball coach Eric Snyder will miss the camaraderie he developed with Stampone through their annual meeting. Snyder also has some past memories about Stampone as a player.

“He is a class act and a nice guy,” said Snyder. “He is an energizing personality who is very easy to get along with. He worked hard, and his teams always played hard.

“When I was a sophomore, he was a senior at Bangor. Coy was a very good player and a 1,000-point scorer.”

Like his supporters, Stampone always had high regard for his coaches and players.

“Northampton has seven 1,000-point scorers in its history, and I was fortunate to have coached two of them,” said Stampone. “The eight seniors I had this year made it difficult for me to choose a scholar athlete. They all had averages that were 3.8 and above. They got it done in the classroom, too.

“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.”

His players appreciated the lessons on and off the court.

“Coach Stampone was an amazing coach who not only built me into a better basketball player, but a better man,” said senior Issac Harris, who became a 1,000-poit career scorer this season. He put so much time into us and he made basketball his life for us.

“He would listen to us and coach based on what the players could do. He had a great run, and I couldn’t have asked for someone else to coach me the last four years.”

Seniors center Lucas Lekso and forward Cooper King echoed their teammate’s sentiments.

“Coach Stampone was a coach who not only helped us with basketball, but also our character,” said Lesko. “He was a great coach and teacher, and I’m glad I was one of the athletes he taught on the court and in the classroom. It’s unfortunate to see him end his career, but he turned the program around and will be remembered as one of the best basketball coaches in Northampton history.

“I’m very happy for him,” added King. “He had a great career at Northampton, and I am proud to have been part of it. I’m also glad that his last season was a historic one, and one that he will always remember.

“I can’t thank him enough for helping all of us players on and off the court.”

Stampone entertained the thought of retiring all season long, even though he had high expectations for this year’s team with four returning starters.

After coaching in the Via All-Star Classic and making an appearance with team members on a local sports show, Stampone was convinced it was time after an annual phone call.

“When Glen Klein called me and told me that summer league starts in mid-May, I knew it was time,” recalled Stampone. “I said to myself that I wasn’t ready for this.

“It was time soon to start a new season, and we just ended this one. I knew that I couldn’t be 100 percent into it. I am retiring from teaching and I wouldn;t be in school with the kids.

“I knew it was time.”

Stampone, who began his coaching career with a four-year assistant stint at Nazareth and a single year head-coach gig at Pen Argyl before Northampton, hasn’t ruled out a return to the game in the future.

“I’ll never say that this is it,” he stated. “My batteries need to be recharged right now. I may want to help someone out down the road.

“I was fortunate to play for Bill Pensyl at Bangor and coach under Joe Arndt at Nazareth. I don’t want to close the door on anybody.”

Stampone can walk away with a feeling of accomplishment.

“I had a vision of being one of the elite teams in the Lehigh Valley,” stressed Stampone. “Everyone really worked hard to get to this point.”

Yet, everyone involved had one teacher and coach who began to shape it all together 10 years ago.