New Raiders girls basketball coach ready to pass along lessons learned from his mentors
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Matt Hahn has learned from some of Berks County’s best basketball coaches. Now he plans to implement those lessons in running his own team after being approved by the Twin Valley school board as the Raiders’ head girls basketball coach.
The 42-year-old played under Lloyd Wolf, No. 2 on the Berks boys all-time wins list, at Holy Name from 1996-2000 and coached under Doug Myer, No. 3 on the Berks girls all-time wins list, at Twin Valley for the last two seasons.
“My main reason for coaching is just a love for the game, really,” Hahn said. “I grew up in a basketball household. My dad was my coach for a long time and it left a lasting impression on me.”
Matt played for his father Allan from first through eighth grades at St. Margaret School. Now he’ll get to coach his daughter, Emma, a rising junior who has gotten varsity minutes the past few seasons.
“It’s a joy,” Hahn said. “My passion is for basketball in general, especially girls basketball. It’s a great bonus that she’s on the team and I’m getting to spend time with her.”
Hahn played for Holy Name when the Blue Jays went 27-4, won the District 3 Class A championship and advanced to the PIAA championship game in 1997-98; that’s one of the many fond memories he has playing for Wolf.
“I just took away the basketball IQ from an X’s and O’s standpoint,” Hahn said of Wolf. “I’ve always been a big film guy, so just watching film with him and seeing how you could break down the game taught me a lot.”
Hahn plans to use that knowledge to implement specialized game plans based on matchups rather than running concrete offensive and defensive sets. Another goal is to maintain participation and dedication in the offseason as many players are busy playing multiple sports.
Hahn moved into the Twin Valley school district in 2005 and coached the middle school girls basketball team for four seasons before joining Myers’ staff two years ago.
When Myer abruptly stepped down as head coach in January Hahn was elevated to co-head coach along with Deana Gorgone.
Gorgone, a senior captain on the successful Peyton McDaniel-led Raiders of the recent past, will remain on the Twin Valley coaching staff, Hahn said.
“She’s going to be a valuable part of what we do here,” Hahn said. “I wanted her to come back and she agreed.”
The Raiders made it to the state tournament for the first time in McDaniel’s freshman season in 2016-17. They made it the next three years and again after McDaniel graduated, behind Natali Foster.
Hahn hopes to lead Twin Valley back to that kind of success after second-place finishes in Berks II the last two years; the Raiders went 4-7 in league play and 7-15 overall last season.
“That falls on me as a coach to get the girls ready to go,” Hahn said. “In my heart and mind I truly believe the talent is there to rebuild the program and get back to where we were just a few years ago. I think we have the right coaching staff and players in place to get back to that level.”
The division is open for the taking next season with two-time defending champion Exeter losing all-time leading scorer Grace Reedy. Twin Valley returns one of the top players in Berks in Hailey Kilgore, who will be a junior.
“We’re excited with what we have (returning),” Hahn said. “We only had two seniors this year. The bulk of our core is back. We have a really good junior class that’s gotten some experience over the last two years. We had a lot of freshmen who will be sophomores who got significant playing time last year. And we also have a good group of incoming freshmen.”
