Jason Roscoe returned "home" to York on Saturday.

The first time he left, Roscoe was a teenager on his way to college at Mansfield University.

When he came back this past weekend, Roscoe was an adult working on his master's degree in special education and coaching a boys' high school basketball team.

Roscoe is the head coach for Liberty High School, a Class A school located in northern Pennsylvania between Williamsport and Mansfield.

He brought the Mounties to York for an afternoon scrimmage against his former team, the Class AAAA York High Bearcats.

"One of the reasons I brought the team down here is that I wanted to test them," said Roscoe, who's starting his second season as head coach.

"I also wanted to give my guys a different experience. I wanted to show them where their coach went to school. This wasn't just about basketball. It was about life, too."

Kids from a rural area met and competed against kids from an urban area.

"The transition was different for me going to a small school and being a minority," Roscoe said. "But no matter where you are, as a coach, you have to get the kids to believe in what you want them to accomplish. Our program is one I consider to be on the rise.

"We went 9-15 last year, and we could have easily been 15-9. We lost, I would say, six or seven games by a total of eight points."
Coach Roscoe was Jason Roscoe, three-sport standout, when York High's current players used to watch him play. A football, basketball and track standout, Roscoe graduated in 1999.

"It was a special feeling when I walked in that gym today," he said. "I remember running out there (from the locker room) throughout the years and hearing that Bearcat clap."

Roscoe led another team on to the court on Saturday. But he still serves as a role model for the York High players.

"This is such a great opportunity for our kids to see a former player, who came from the same community they did, and who went to college and got his degree and now he's working on his master's," York High coach Isiah Anderson said.

"It seems like when our kids go off and get their degrees, good things happen. When they don't, not so good things happen. Two of Jason's (high school) teammates, one died, and one's in jail."

Roscoe doesn't live in York anymore, but it still holds a special meaning for him.

"York is the place that made Jason Roscoe who he is today. So, whatever I can do to give back and to be an example for others in the York High program, I'm willing to do that. I'll talk to the guys about what I did and how I got where I am."

Dick VanOlinda covers high school sports for The York Dispatch. He can be reached at dvanolin da@yorkdispatch.com or 505-5407.