Lehigh Valley Sports Hall of famer, collegiate athlete, Morning Call player of the year, 1,000 point scorer, all incredible accolades that made Kelsey Gallagher fit to become the newest Emmaus girls basketball coach.
A former East Stroudsburg South assistant basketball coach and graduate, Gallagher will now be heading the Lady Green Hornets’ basketball program. Gallagher says she plans to forget the program’s struggle in recent years and focus on the future.
“The nice thing about this is that I don’t know too much about Emmaus,” she says. “So I don’t have to focus on the past, I know I have girls that will come in, work hard and are dedicated to the team.”
Athletic Director Dennis Ramella said he was pleased with the resumes he reviewed, but Gallagher had some special qualities that were too good to pass up. Ramella wanted a candidate who knew the game, had experience, and was a proven winner-all characteristics that described Gallagher.
“She cares deeply about the girls, socially, athletically, [and] academically, which is all apart of the equation,” says Ramella.
This young, ambitious coach plans to change the culture of Emmaus basketball, giving the girls a new defense and offense to learn. At first, she is not asking much of the girls, just that they come in every day and give maximum effort. However, come November, Gallagher says she wants Emmaus to be a force to be reckoned with.
“They want to learn, if that continues throughout, then the outcome will be a lot better than most people expect,” Gallagher says.
Gallagher and her two sisters have all been inducted into the Lehigh Valley Sports Hall of Fame, but she continuously emphasizes how she would be nowhere without the constant support from her family. Coming from a close-knit, sports-loving bunch, Coach Gallagher plans to bring that same passion to the girl’s program.
“It’s hard to be successful without that strong backbone, and for me that rolls over into sports because family is nothing but support,” Gallagher says.
Gallagher’s nearly entirely new coaching staff is ecstatic about the program’s future, starting with freshman coach Mike Carolla, who has nothing but praise for Gallagher’s tactics.
“Coach Gallagher brings great energy and basketball knowledge, as well as new ideas to the girls’ basketball program,” Carolla says. “From a hoops standpoint, I love what she is implementing, and enjoy watching her teach our student-athletes the finer points of the game.”
With the help of her additional staff, varsity assistant Dallas Ely and JV coach Josh Matis, Gallagher is determined to put Emmaus girls basketball back on the Lehigh Valley’s map.
