While Coach Matthew Cooper has been coaching basketball for twenty-four years, no one team stands out to him.
“I don’t think there’s a favorite team. I enjoyed coaching all of them,” said Cooper.
Coach Cooper announced that this year, however, will be his final year as head coach of the Southern Lehigh Spartans’s Girls Basketball team, with a 145-33 record throughout his tenure. He is the fastest to reach a hundred wins, going 100-10. Under his tenure, the Spartans built a veritable dynasty, winning five straight Colonial League Championships from 2016 to 2019. His teams won five straight District 11 5A Division Championships, including Southern Lehigh’s first district title, from 2016 to 2019, and made the PIAA State Semifinals in 2018 and 2019. The team was also recognized as Team of the Year in 2016 and 2018 by The Morning Call.
Beyond the numerous accolades his team has earned during his tenure, Coach Cooper has also been recognized as an individual, being named Coach of the Decade 2020 by The Morning Call. He was also named Coach of the Year in 2016 by two separate news outlets, The Morning Call and Lehigh Valley Live, and in 2019 by Calling All Sports.
Despite his great success, Coach Cooper has said that he will not miss the spotlight.
“I won’t miss the spotlight, but I will miss the relationships built with coaches and players, and planning for games,” said Cooper.
He did say, however, that his favorite memory as a coach was the Spartans’s 2016 victory over Bethlehem Catholic in the District 11 5A Championships.
Cooper also said that for him the most emotional win was the team’s fourth league championship over Notre Dame Green-Pond.
“It came down to an overtime play call with nineteen seconds left in the game. We [the team] ran the play, and won,” said Cooper.
Coach Cooper said that he currently has no future coaching plans and does not know who will succeed him as head coach of the Spartans, but is proud of the family and selfless atmosphere he and the other members of his coaching staff created at Southern Lehigh.
