By Tom Robinson, NEPABasketball.com

Two long-time coaches have been replaced by another as the Old Forge girls basketball teams starts virtually from scratch.

Heavy graduation losses have thinned out the roster that Pete Sulla inherits as he becomes a varsity girls head coach after decades of coaching, primarily as a varsity assistant and/or head coach on lower levels on the boys side.

Ron Stacchiotti, who last coached actively in the state tournament that the Blue Devils and other state quarterfinalists never got to finish because of COVID in 2010, died during the offseason. Tom Gatto, who stepped in as interim head coach last year and shared a resume line with Stacchiotti as a coach of a state finalist at Old Forge, stepped back into retirement.

The girls program was left in need of new guidance.

That’s where Sulla comes in with a difficult task for a first assignment.

Old Forge has just eight players and will operate without a junior varsity schedule.

Sulla coached junior high, freshmen and junior varsity boys at Wyoming Area before becoming the seventh- and eighth-grade boys coach and a varsity assistant at Old Forge. At the same time, he was aware of the success stories being written in the girls program.

“It’s a tight-knit community,” Sulla said. “I went through school one year behind coach Stacchiotti and, growing up, he was best friends with my brother, so he and I were pretty close.”

With Lindsey Welsh playing a key role at nationally ranked DeSales University as a sophomore and all-stater Olivia Ciullo starting up her career at Susquehanna University, the Lady Devils are also in need of new on-court leadership.

“We only have one senior and we’re trying to figure out where points are going to come from,” Sulla said.

Sophomore power forward Talia Piragas is the top returning scorer and Brooke Arnold, the lone senior, was the team’s top 3-point shooter last season.

Sulla is counting on them as the most likely offensive leaders.

“Hopefully, we’ll play tough-nosed defense,” he said.

The junior high program in the fall consisted of just seven girls, who played strictly an eighth-grade schedule.

On both the varsity and junior-high levels, the program emphasis has been on building up skill levels of the new faces coming through.

“We started conditioning early in the summer and what we have done is worked really hard on fundamentals,” Sulla said. “The girls are getting better every day, which means a lot.

“We know what direction we have to head to.”

Juniors Bella Nee and Lauryn Olivieri are the next-most experienced players.

Sophomore forward Leah Domiano and freshman guard Jewlya McCullon are also vying for spots in the lineup.