Mark Seremula again happened to be at the right place at the right time.

Three years ago, Seremula left his girls’ basketball assistant’s job at Wilson and met then Catty head girls’ basketball coach Ed Seidick at the Roughies’ annual athletic department golf tournament. Ironically, Seremula is a Catasauqua resident.

It proved to be a productive connection in many ways as Seremula joined Seidick’s staff.

When Seidick resigned earlier this spring, he highly recommended Seremula for the position. Recently, the torch was officially passed as Seremula took over the Roughies’ program.

“(Former Wilson head girls’ basketball coach) Dennis Fry passed away and things didn’t work out at Wilson,” said Seremula. “I met coach Seidick at the golf tournament and he asked me if I wanted to join his staff.

“From there, things worked out perfectly. We had a very close relationship, and he thought I was the best person for the job.”

Seremula, who played at Northampton and graduated from there in 1994, recalled how he and his peers revered high school players as an elementary student. Before a 15-year stint at Wilson, Seremula began his coaching career at Nazareth with a two-year junket beginning in 1998.

“When you were younger, you looked up to guys in high school as NBA players,” he stated. “It was exciting to make the move to high school. We want to reach down in the youth programs and generate those kinds of feelings.

“We need to work closely with the youth programs. We have some good numbers down there and we have to generate the interest.”

Seremula plans to have the team play in the Catasauqua summer league and the Cedar Beach tournament in early July. He also plans to continue a fall youth clinic.

For the program to be successful, Seremula sees a steady tow along the way. The Roughies graduated five seniors and have posted consecutive 4-18 seasons.

They began this past year with a strong showing at the Tamaqua tournament to open the season, but then they faced perennial league powers Notre Dame, Southern Lehigh, and Northwestern.

“We’ll have a similar schedule this year, and we’ll need to compete,” said Seremula. “We need to play to our strength, which will be speed. We also need to work on improving every day.

“Our game will be to push the ball up and down the floor and wear the other team out.”

Seremula certainly will make sure his team is ready to go. He doesn’t plan to evaluate the team’s progress simply on wins and losses.

“I pride myself in being prepared,” he stressed. “We have to do all of the little things right and success will follow. I am grateful to (athletic director) Tom Moll and the school board for giving me this opportunity.

“I am also grateful to coach Seidick for bringing me on board. We’ll work to get better and the wins will come.”