As a sophomore, Zach Gula figured it was time to take his game to the next level.

After a productive summer, Gula was in the running for one of the Konkrete Kids’ starting positions after a number of them had been created due to graduation.

He took the initiative and never looked back.

Playing in the shadow of leading scorers and seniors Aidan Elwood and Cory Weisenberger, Gula quietly was a consistent performer for the Kids all season. He started the team’s first 21 games, yielding only to the team’s senior night. Gula averaged 7.3 points per game heading into the playoffs.

“I knew this would be a big step for me,” said Gula. “We lost a lot of seniors and I had to step it up. I thought I did that and it paid off for me.

“Cory (Weisenberger) and Aidan (Elwood) have been leading us. We only have one junior and three sophomores – I’m one of them – and we’re all playing well.”

According to Gula, the Kids have surpassed expectations.

“We had a pretty good summer,” he said. “We did well at SportsFest and in the Stellar tournament. We expect to be good, but maybe not as good as we are. We beat Becahi and Central (Catholic) and that was huge for us. Those two teams are at the top (of the East Penn Conference).”

“There are never any easy outs in our league, and now we are one of the top teams.”

Gula has played nearly every position on the floor with the team’s match system. At 6-foot-1, Gula has faced his share of challenges playing down low at times.

“I am undersized at best,” he said. “But I know I just have to keep battling. There are so many good players in this league. I just tried to do everything I could the best way that I knew how.”

Head coach Coy Stampone realizes Gula was a big part of the Kids’ success.

“He (Gula) does the little things out there and he also is a consistent scorer,” said Stampone. “He saw time last year and worked hard over the summer. Zach continues and evolves as a player.”

Gula credited his basketball beginnings and current status to his family. His father, Michael, was his coach in first grade to middle school, and his mother, Michelle, was a basketball player at Lehigh Valley Christian High School. Younger brother, Jake, is playing in the middle school program.

“My father has taught me everything I know,” he said. “My whole family has been very supportive of everything with basketball. I couldn’t have done it without my parents.

“I played baseball when I was younger, but it was too boring. There wasn’t enough movement for me.”

The Kids had a run to the District 11 finals before falling to East Stroudsburg South and then an early exit in the state playoffs. But Gula should see more action in the coming years.