That Yough alum Scott Houseman is taking over his alma mater’s football program just eight years after his high school playing career ended is impressive.
He is all of 26 years old.
That the former Albany lineman is making his first head coaching job more about his family than himself, that is heartfelt and genuine.
Houseman’s mother, Debra, died when he was 4. His father, Melvin, had to raise three kids practically by himself. Houseman didn’t have a silver spoon but did just fine with a plastic fork.
“I know my mom would be so proud of what I have done,” Houseman said. “My dad got a text from my brother (David) at the school board meeting saying, you and mom instilled this work ethic in us with unconditional love. I know what this means to my dad. This a huge accomplishment for him and a testament to my family.”
Houseman is following a familiar narrative in Westmoreland County. More schools are hiring younger coaches to lead their varsity programs.
The area has stepped into the 20-somethings era. Former players, fresh out of college and eager to lead programs, are starting quickly and gaining experience just as fast.
Take Southmoreland, which brought in another Yough graduate, Dustin Shoaf, who was even younger than Houseman when he took the Scotties’ top spot at 24.
“It wasn’t so much thinking I was ready, it was more of betting and believing in yourself and taking that chance,” Shoaf said. “I was very fortunate to have strong mentors that helped prepare me for where I am today.”
Shoaf includes his father, Randy, along with Jeannette head coach Tommy Paulone, Mercyhurt coach Ryan Riemedio, and former Yough head coaches Mark Crovak and Scott Wood in that group.
Austin Butler was 26 when Hempfield tabbed the former Latrobe star to be its head boys basketball coach.
After one season under his belt, Butler feels like he made the right decision to stop playing and turn his full attention to coaching.
“My basketball playing career and the coaches I played for and learned from, along with the passion and enjoyment I had training kids when I got back from overseas, is what made me start considering maybe coaching was for me,” Butler said.
“Because of how much the game has done for me and I feel it’s a way for me to give back from the other side of the lines now.”
Franklin Regional hired Maddie Uschock to take the reins of its softball program after the retirement of longtime coach Jim Armstrong. This is her first season, and while the Panthers have struggled, Uschock is embracing the challenge.
The former Hempfield standout pitcher is 26.
“Even though I’m young, I felt ready to step into a head coaching role because of the all experiences I’ve had with the game,” she said. “I was lucky to play for great high school coaches, along with a lot of strong travel ball and junior league coaches, two great college coaches, and I’ve attended some of the top softball camps at universities all over the country including a few Team USA softball camps.
“I spent years trying to soak up all the knowledge and be a student of the game. I’ve learned so much from all those opportunities that I was blessed to have, and I really wanted to give back and pass that knowledge on.”
Uschock caught the coaching bug long before she even knew it.
“(Penn-Trafford) coach Denny Little had reminded me recently that I used to help run some of his Harrison City Heat practices back when his players were really young, but I was just 13,” Uschock said. “Maybe that had sparked my interest for coaching and teaching the game even 13 years ago.”
After two years as Norwin’s girls soccer coach, Ashley DeVito is primed for a third. In the fall, she will begin her 10th season as a WPIAL coach after seven at Penn Hills, a place where she began coaching when she was 22.
“It’s crazy to think that I’ve been doing this for almost a decade already, and I’m still on the younger end,” DeVito said. “I think that one of the greatest benefits of being a young coach is being able to relate to the players. When the kids know that you have shared experiences, it really allows you to communicate openly and build trust. When you’re able to jump into an activity with the players and model the expectation and compete with them at a high level, it builds credibility.”
DeVito said there were challenges when she stepped into coaching in 2015.
“The thing I was least prepared for when I started at 22 was managing all the moving parts,” she said. “I just showed up and expected to coach soccer games, but there is so much more than that. Logistics and operations, planning and preparation, boosters, events, (etc.). I knew I could do the X’s and O’s, but there was definitely a learning curve in learning how to run an entire program. The entirety of the program is so much more than the drills you run and tactics you teach.”
Some other recent examples of young coaching moves:
• New Penn-Trafford wrestling coach Nate Smith, a Franklin Regional alum, is 25.
• Tommy Paulone took over as Jeannette’s head football coach at 29.
• Christian Hyland, who stepped down as Greensburg Central Catholic’s boys basketball coach after six seasons, was 24 when he started.
• Ben Hoffer, whom Houseman is replacing at Yough, was 31 when he took over the Cougars four years ago.
• Cam Auld became Norwin’s boys basketball coach in 2024 at 26.
• Jesse Reed was 28 when he became the head boys basketball coach at Franklin Regional.
• Belle Vernon hired Tyler Caterino last year to coach its boys soccer team. The former Monessen standout was 25.
• Jake Rice was 24 when he began a short stint as Latrobe’s boys soccer coach.
Brian Zagorac looks a lot younger than 33, but maybe that is what winning does. He is the head coach of the Penn-Trafford hockey team, which won PIHL Penguins Cup and Pennsylvania Cup titles this season.
He was an assistant for five years prior to becoming the leading man. The extended experience made him sharper, he said.
“My experience as an assistant coach gave me the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them,” Zagorac said. “High school athletes have a limited window and deserve someone who shows up every day fully committed to them and the team, and I don’t take that responsibility lightly.
“I think its less about age and more about the energy you bring and how you channel it through your messaging so the players can feed off it.”
Butler said one key to establishing a coaching identity so young is to block out critics who think more experience is necessary to have success at the varsity level.
“It’s just outside noise and there will always be people on the outside who believe and will say things but that’s life,” Butler said. “There’s no better way to prove you’re ready for something then by just going out and doing it. I’ve always been competitive as a player and wanted to be great when I stepped on the court and that mindset hasn’t changed now being on the coaching side of the lines.
“There’s no better way to figure out an answer to something we didn’t know than by living it and experiencing it through the long seasons.”
Most of the budding coaches agree building a strong staff is critical to success and growth.
“I am very fortunate and blessed to have the staff that we have,” Shoaf said. “All 14 guys on my staff are great coaches but they are even better men and role models. As a head coach, your success comes from the players and your assistant coaches.”
Uschock said leading a team isn’t all about wins and losses.
“What I’ve enjoyed most about leading the team is building relationships with the players and helping them develop their skills and confidence,” Uschock said. “Seeing their progress and effort every day means a lot to me.”