Phil O'Mahen
Phil O'Mahen was a standout basketball player at Hickory High School who went on to become an outstanding coach at his alma mater and other Mercer County programs.
At Hickory, O'Mahen played on the 1958-59 and 1959-60 squads, helping the team to a 15-7 mark his senior year. He was a Mercer County All-Star selection his senior season.
He went to Slippery Rock State College, where he concentrated on academics, but helped his team win the intramural basketball championship in 1963.
From there he went on to an illustrious coaching career. He served as boys’ varsity hoops coach at Hickory High from 1981-87. During that time his clubs won a Mercer County championship, made the District 10 playoffs 4 years, and advanced into the PIAA playoffs 4 seasons, including a Western Regional finals appearance. He was named Mercer County Coach of the Year in 1981-82 and 1982-83 and won a National High School Coaching Award in 1987.
He served as girls varsity coach at Hickory and for four years as girls varsity coach at Sharpsville, where his teams made the district playoffs twice and the PIAA playoffs one time.
He spent numerous years of coaching at the junior varsity and junior high levels, with time at Hickory, Sharpsville, Farrell and Kennedy Catholic programs. He was assistant track coach at Hickory.
Phil continues to excel in sports at the senior level. He played softball for 9 years in The Villages League in Florida and helped as a volunteer umpire. He won a silver medal in swimming at the Keystone State Games.
He had numerous community contributions, including Red Cross swimming instructor and Little League coach. As a youth, he was a member of the Buhl Club Whiz Kids.