The build-up to this basketball season has been like no other in Pat Crampsie's head coaching career.

That's because instead of immersing himself in Xs and Os and devoting time to things like solving a pressing defense, Crampsie has had another pressing matter on his mind.And the end result of this one has nothing to do with turnovers or layups, and has far greater implications than just a win or a loss on the basketball court.A few months ago, Crampsie found out that he had prostate cancer.Because of the treatments involved with the diagnosis, Crampsie is taking a leave of absence from both his teaching job and his coaching responsibilities at Panther Valley.Crampsie had surgery last week. If all goes well, he hopes to return to the classroom in early January and the Panther Valley bench around the same time, although that will depend on how his follow-up appointments go."When my doctor set the time frame for the surgery and recovery and I realized it would mean missing the beginning of basketball season, it was a little difficult at first," Crampsie said. "When you've been coaching as long as I have, it becomes a huge part of your life."But it didn't take me very long to put things into perspective. When you hear the word cancer, it can be pretty scary. Right now, my focus is on following my doctor's order and beating this."So when the Panther Valley boys basketball team opens the season on Friday against Jim Thorpe, Crampsie won't be coaching."I've never missed a game, and only missed two practices in 15 years," Crampsie said. "I missed practice the day my son was born, and then missed practice the following day because he was still in the intensive care unit."So not being around the program for over a month is going to be strange. But at the same time, I know the team is in great hands."Crampsie is able to have that confidence because his coaching staff is like a second family.His four assistant coaches - Keith Gogal, Shaun Midas, Ken Miller and Andrew Michalik - have a combined 43 years of coaching experience at Panther Valley.Gogal, who has been part of Crampsie's staff for 10 years, will assume the head coaching job."When I found out in September that I had cancer, I met with my coaches, our athletic director Kristin Black, and the administration," Crampsie explained. "Everyone was extremely supportive."This was a unique situation with the timing involved, so I wanted to make sure that what we decided was going to be fair to our players."The decision was to turn the team over to Gogal and the other assistants until Crampsie could return."Pat has been our coach for the last 15 years, so not having him around to start the season will be very different," said athletic director Black. "At the same time, our biggest concern and our top priority is Pat's health."Having Keith take over will help continue what Pat has started with this group of players and will create a comfortable transition for our student athletes."Crampsie said he was feeling fine when he went for a routine physical in July."I asked my doctor about getting my PSA levels tested as part of my blood work," Crampsie recalled.Crampsie said at first the doctor told him that's not something they usually worry about for 41-year-old patients.But at Crampsie's insistence, the doctor included the test."My PSA levels came back high," Crampsie said.A retest, a round of antibiotics, and a third test followed. The blood work continued to show high PSA levels."High PSA levels don't necessarily mean cancer," Crampsie said. "So the next step was a biopsy. I had that done in September, and that's when the cancer was confirmed."Thinking back, Crampsie said he's still not totally sure why he insisted on the PSA test."As I've gotten older, I've tried to be a little more health conscious," Crampsie said. "I've been trying to eat better and I try to keep myself a little more informed about health."I have a family history of prostate cancer and I knew that particular test was one that could indicate markers for the cancer. I didn't even go into the physical with my mind made up to ask about it. But while I was there, I decided to ask."The insistence on the test could have been a life saver."I had some testing done and at this time it appears the cancer hasn't spread, although we still need to do some more tests to confirm it," Crampsie said. "Obviously discovering it early was very important. A lot of people deal with prostate cancer, but each diagnosis and treatment can be very different depending on age, aggressiveness and other factors."I feel extremely fortunate and blessed to have found out about like I did. Because there were no signs or indications that something was wrong."Crampsie had his surgery just over a week ago. He was home the following day."The next four weeks, I have some strict physical limits about what I can and can't do," Cramspie said. "I'll also have a number of follow-up doctor appointments between now and when I hope to return to teaching and coaching in January."I'm still not sure what the follow-up treatment will entail. That depends on further testing. So right now, I'm just taking it one day at a time."Crampsie said the support he has received from family, friends and colleagues has been incredible."I can't thank everyone enough," he said. "My wife, my sister, my brother-in-law, parents, family and friends … their support has been amazing."In addition, my fellow teachers and coaches at Panther Valley, the administration and the school board, have all gone out of their way to make this as easy on me as possible."With the start of basketball season just days away, Crampsie said that could also play a role in his recovery."I'll be getting practice updates from Keith (Gogal) and the rest of the staff, and I'm hoping to stop by a practice or two and spend some time with the team.One thing Crampsie isn't going to do, however, is rush things."I won't return to coaching until I'm at full strength," Crampsie said. "The job, and the responsibilities that go with it, demand that."I'd be doing a disservice to my players and the program to try and come back for a few days a week, or to come back for games and not be at all the practices. So I'm going to wait until I know I'm ready to be there 100 percent of the time."That shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has watched Crampsie coach for the last 15 years.From the opening tap until the final buzzer, Crampsie's passion, commitment and dedication to Panther Valley and the coaching professional are evident.It's obvious that Crampsie doesn't do anything at less than 100 percent.Whether it's teaching, coaching or battling cancer, Crampsie isn't going to change.