Jim Dudas' goodbye to his girls' basketball team at South Fayette High School was, in his words, emotional and "hard to take."

"It was very difficult. There were a lot of tears shed on both sides," said Dudas, who accepted a job as head coach of the girls' basketball team at Oakland Catholic last month.

Dudas, head coach at South Fayette for the past two years and an assistant coach for one year previous to that, said this was a very difficult decision to make for him.

"In fact," he said, "it was the most difficult decision I have made relative to sports. I was surprised (about the decision). It was something that took some thought."

This is not the first time, however, that Dudas has been approached about the same job. He got a call last year but did not apply.

The move represents a jump from WPIAL Class AA to Class AAAA.

"This is not the first time that someone called about the job," he said. Dudas calls his time at South Fayette "unbelievably great with an astounding bunch of kids. The administration was fantastic. The program, I think, has been turned around with the kids there, especially, because they wanted to work hard...with the strength and conditioning programs, entering more competitive events and so on.

"The program is on the right track, I think."

In Dudas' first year as head coach, the team went 15-11 (6-6 inner-conference).

Last season, the girls went 17-9 (7-5) with a tougher schedule.

In both seasons, the team went to the first round of the playoffs; last year, the girls lost a heartbreaker to Our Lady of Sacred Heart in the first round, 37-33.

Being approached about the Oakland Catholic position not once but twice is a reflection on his players at South Fayette, Dudas said.

"They should be proud of themselves for everything they have done," he said.

As for his future at Oakland Catholic, Dudas is approaching it with "cautious optimism."

"It is obviously a big step up. We'll see."