Pretty Good Year
This is the last in a series of five articles profiling the Mars Athletic Hall of Fame's Class of 2018.ADAMS TWP — It has been quite a year for longtime Mars girls basketball coach Dana Petruska.In March, she guided the Planets to the program's first-ever state title with a victory over Archbishop Wood in Hershey.Not long afterward, she was named Class 5A Girls Basketball Coach of the Year and, being a 1975 graduate of Deer Lakes High School, was inducted into the All-Kiski Sports Hall of Fame last spring.She will now be honored by Mars, the school at which she owns a 329-207 record in 23 seasons. The program's current streak of 20 straight seasons of making the playoffs began during her first stint at Mars (1985-2005).Petruska will be one of six inducted into the district's athletic hall of fame on Friday.Those who know Petruska best shouldn't be surprised by her humility despite all of the accolades over the past six months.“I'm very humbled by all of this,” she said. “I signed up to do my very best and to be recognized for it is great. I know there are a lot of other coaches out there who could be in the position I am in.”Petruska starred in basketball, volleyball and softball while in high school before playing basketball on scholarship at the University of Pittsburgh.“After college, I realized that I wanted to be a coach,” she said.Petruska took the reins of the Mars program prior to the 1985-86 season. It was near the end of her first tenure with the Planets that she had a change in mind-set as a coach.“When I started out as a head coach, you yelled and screamed. That's how you got things done,” Petruska said. “I had a love/hate relationship with basketball back then. My oldest son, Jimmy, was an assistant under me for a few years at Mars and he told me, 'Mom, this isn't working'. I thought about it and agreed with him.“My coaching style has definitely changed. I'm still a sore loser, but I used to be much more emotional about it.”Petruska's coaching position at Mars was opened following the 2004-05 season. At the time, Petruska was told by the district that “it was time for a change”.She served as an assistant under Dorothea Epps with Butler's girls team before finding her way back to her alma mater at Deer Lakes. In eight seasons as head coach of the Lancers, she compiled a 111-71 record that included six WPIAL playoff appearances. Prior to her arrival, Deer Lakes had gone 14-81 in the previous four seasons.When the Mars job was available once again, Petruska applied and was hired in 2015. She said at the time, “I felt like I had nothing to lose by applying for it.”The first two seasons following her return proved to be solid campaigns, with the Planets going a combined 37-15 with a pair of state playoff appearances.This past season could have followed suit, but following a loss to Oakland Catholic in the WPIAL semifinals in late February, Petruska felt it could yield something more.“My husband, Jim, he's like another assistant coach for me. He's always analyzing things,” Petruska said. “He looked at the state brackets when they came out and told me, 'I think you can make a run at this.'”The Planets played their best basketball in the state tournament. They scored four straight wins, the closest margin being eight points, to reach the state final against a heavily favored Archbishop Wood squad.A stingy defense, culminating with Tai Johnson's steal late in the fourth quarter, helped lift the Planets to a 36-33 win.Despite reaching the summit of high school basketball, Petruska has lost none of the passion for coaching the game.“Last year was last year,” she said. “I am so excited for the kids, so excited for the upcoming season.”
