It just all seemed right to Adam Kaufman.

Montour High School is the place that molded and shaped him.

Now, he'll be the one doing the molding and shaping.

Kaufman, a former standout boys' basketball player at Montour who graduated from the school in 1997 before going on to play at Edinboro University, was recently named the new head coach of the Spartans' program.

He replaces Frank Guerra, who resigned after five years as coach.

Kaufman, who turns 29 tomorrow, had been the head coach at Bishop Canevin the past two seasons -- but he understands that there is a different sense of pride that comes with coaching at the place you played.

There is something special with getting on one knee in a timeout huddle and looking up at a young man who is wearing the same jersey that you once wore.

Kaufman knows as much.

"I love it here already," said Kaufman, who had a 32-22 record at Canevin.

"I did everything I could to win at Canevin and prepared my team as well as I could have every time we took the floor. But the truth is, and we all know this, that it is special when you coach at your alma mater. To be back home pushes you just a little bit more because there is more of a pride factor there to do well."

Doing well is something that Kaufman doesn't want measured solely by a year or two years at Montour -- he's looking for sustainable, marked improvement program-wide. He made a point to say that his leadership will reach down into the elementary system. He'll also have a hand in the middle school system and then, of course, guide the high schoolers.

"We need everyone on the same page. That is the only way to really build a program," Kaufman said. "I am not here at Montour with the goal of building a good team, I am here at Montour with the goal of building a good program.

"Those are two very different things. You can have one good group of players come in and have a good team, but to have a good program, you have to build success over time and that is what I am interested in doing."

A tangible measure to Kaufman's commitment came with his very first move -- hiring an assistant coach.

Kaufman scored a coup of sorts, getting former Robert Morris University standout player Aaron Thomas to leave an assistant coaching position at Moon Area to slide over to Montour. There is a feeling that the two, working in unison, will be a huge benefit to Montour's preparedness.

"I have known Aaron for a long time and the beauty of the situation is that there is no one I will feel more comfortable with sitting with me on the bench than him," Kaufman said.

"Not to say anything bad about any other coaches, but I know between Aaron and myself, there will be no coaching staff who will be more prepared than us. There might be some guys who are as prepared, but no one will be more prepared.

"That is just another thing that is all going to go into this and I know that, because of all the hard work, we will win basketball games at Montour."