A-C boys’ basketball coach Brad Karli seeks to pass along positive experiences

In many ways, the past 50 years have all led up to this moment for Brad Karli.

The timing was right, and the circumstances aligned for Karli to put himself out there. In some very specific ways, Karli is making himself vulnerable.

“When you’re an assistant coach, you’re behind the scenes,” he said. “You’re not in the spotlight. For me, I’ve embraced the opportunity. I’m proud of who I am and what I have done. I’m excited to let people see my coaching style and my philosophy. I’m hoping to share that with everyone.”

Recently, Karli, a one-time three-sport athlete and an experienced assistant coach, became the boys’ basketball coach at Annville-Cleona High School. He replaces Jason Coletti, who parted ways with Annville-Cleona School District following eight seasons in which the Dutchmen compiled an overall record of 62-107.

Karli’s assignment is his initial venture into the world of scholastic head coaching.

“Shortly after I left LVC, (Annville-Cleona athletic director) Tommy Long reached out to me and asked me if I would consider becoming a head coach,” said Karli. “At first, I said, no. I talked with my family about it. Coaching college basketball is different than coaching high school basketball. My initial concerns were patience and that these kids are multi-sport athletes. The focus, the details, the skill level are different. I just wasn’t sure if it was something I wanted to do, and I talked to some people about it.

“After coaching 26 years, I wanted to run my own program. I had all these Annville-Cleona legends reach out to me. I heard about the youth program and all the good kids coming up.”

Before head coach Brad McAlester retired, Karli spent the last nine years as an assistant coach for the Lebanon Valley College men’s basketball team. Before that, Karli was a full-time assistant coach at Division II Bloomsburg for six seasons.

He began his coaching career at his alma mater – Elizabethtown College – upon the completion of his playing career and academic studies.

“What I remember about LVC was the kids, and Coach Mac was a legend,” said Karli. “He was terrific, just his loyalty and commitment to the school and the kids. We always tried to focus on character. Just the community, the smallness of the community is something I thrive on.

“There are a lot of differences between being a head coach and an assistant coach. One season, I stepped in for Coach Mac at the end of the year and took over as head coach. There’s preparation, making decisions on playing time, checking on academic progress and practice schedules. Not that you don’t do that as an assistant coach, but it’s on a different level. There’s a lot more to it.

“As the head coach, you’re making tougher decisions. The importance of communication is what I’ve learned through all my experience. It’s something I want to pursue. The cool thing about Annville-Cleona is there are a lot of multi-sport athletes there and I played three sports in high school.”

At Cedar Crest in the early 1990s, Karli played basketball for Frank Kuhn Jr. and Gene “Spike” Fuhrman. He played football for Norbie Danz and baseball for Bill Dissinger – all members of the unofficial Who’s Who of Lebanon County coaching legends.

In addition to McAlester, the all-time winningest coach in Flying Dutchmen men’s basketball history, Karli also assisted Bob Schlosser, the Elizabethtown College men’s basketball program’s all-time leader in coaching victories. That’s an awful lot of time spent in healthy athletic cultures.

“What I took away was always being a role model, someone who practiced what he preached,” said Karli, a 50-year-old resident of South Lebanon. “It’s important to keep checks on priorities. Academics is No. 1, basketball and sports are No. 2, and No. 3 is community. When kids keep them in that order, they have great careers. I want to instill a ‘win the day’ philosophy. It’s what I call a championship mentality.”

Karli is assembling his own staff of five assistant coaches, some of whom teach in Annville-Cleona School District. The Dutchmen open their 2026-27 winter campaign at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at Octorara.

“Player development is huge, and I love that,” said Karli. “Mental toughness in any sport is important. It’s going to be fun getting to know these kids.

“I think if you take care of the little things, the winning will ultimately come. We have to change the culture a little bit. I want fans to say after games, ‘Wow, those Annville-Cleona kids play their butts off, and they play together.’”

Karli makes a living from his day job as a Verizon client executive for TEAM Wireless.

“I love people, and I love sales,” said Karli. “Sales is all about relationship building.

“I’ve been really blessed in my journey and the people I’ve surrounded myself with,” concluded Karli. “I can’t tell you how many people found out about the job, reached out to me and wished me well.”