There are not many people preparing for their first season as a varsity girls basketball coach while also pondering what to do for their 25th birthday, but that?s what Amanda Sheehy is doing these days.
At the end of June, Sheehy was named as Megan Puopolo?s successor to the Needham High hoop helm. The former captain and star guard for the Assumption women?s squad, who just completed her second season as a varsity assistant at Newton North, knew going for the job was a gamble ? but one she felt she was destined to win.
?I loved my two years at North, but to me it was almost two years too many,? says the confident Sheehy. ?I was wanting a stronger role, and I felt I was ready. I learned a lot of things at North, but I felt it was my time to give it a step up a try.
?To me, Needham was not like a shot in the dark. So, I kind of put it out there, and hoped for the best.?
She knew her age was going to stand out against other candidates, but she was still committed to try. That determination, coupled with her knowledge of the game, her passion and communication skills, and the added bonus of her education background is what won over Rockets athletic director Micah Hauben and the school selection committee.
?I completely understood that the one thing that was going to hold me back for any coaching opportunity was my age,? said Sheehy. ?Yeah I?m 24, but this is how I put myself forward, and this is what I want. I can?t come into something always with experience. Luckily, Micah and Needham believed in me.?
Hauben had just filled another high-profile job, hiring Mike Bertoni to take over the varsity boys hockey program, and he looked for similar traits in his girls basketball coach.
?The combination of sports-specific knowledge and education background was what we really like,? says Hauben of Sheehy, one of three finalists for the post. ?She was a pretty big-time recruit out of New Jersey, who played four years and captained at Assumption, and has been working around the game since college. And she?s come out with a degree in education, and then an advanced degree in behavioral therapy.?
The Linden, N.J., native, who currently resides in Brighton, earned a degree in history with a concentration in elementary education at Assumption. She headed to California State-San Marcos near San Diego to get her master?s degree in education, and is currently wrapping up a master's certificate in applied behavior analysis that she?ll put to use in her post as a behavior therapist in the Newton Public Schools system.
One of the things that helped her best was an unusual part of Hauben?s final interview process. He set up a mock practice with several varsity players, to see firsthand how each of the candidates worked on the court and with the athletes.
?Everyone?s reaction when I told them about it was like, wow, I never heard that done before,? said Sheehy. ?But it was great, and now I?m like why doesn?t everyone do that. As teachers we do a mock lesson to show how we teach a class, so doing (a mock practice) just made sense.
?I was more nervous for the coaching end of it than the first interview,? Sheehy added. ?But after the kids and I got going, it was completely natural. The kids were receptive, and it was fun. I only had a handful of kids, but I was able to get a lot out of them in a short amount of time.?
Her work on the court stood out for Hauben, as well. ?It was very clear that Amanda is very passionate about the game, and for coaching. She?s very driven to really challenge and push the girls to perform at a high level. She motivates in different ways, and builds connections quickly with the student-athletes.
?In a very short window of time, she was able to make connections and, at the same time, to push and teach them. She was able to create a positive environment; that?s what stood out for me.?
Sheehy cannot get enough of coaching. While finishing her master's certification, she?s also coaching as many summer clinics she can find, going nonstop since the summer began. She?ll be able to take a bit of a break when September hits, as the clinics and her schooling will be done. But then she?ll only have a couple of months before the first of December hits ? and her Rockets reign begins.
She will retain the services of junior varsity coach Dean Putnam and freshman coach Nicole Piatelli. ?I?m so thankful to them. They?ve been a huge resource already for me,? says Sheehy.
After seeing Needham twice when Newton North played them this fall, she has a small idea of what kind of team she?ll have for her first campaign, but she?s keeping her options open.
??Right now, my game plan is pretty mundane,? she says. ?I need to see what I have and start from there. I have an idea what I?m going to have, for the most part, but I?ll have about 12-14 spots to fill (on her roster). I don?t know anything about anyone, and I want to come in and build up from scratch.?
Her ideal style of play is run and gun ? ?Very up tempo, a lot of man-to-man defense, play tough, grab rebounds and score in transition. I don?t like having too many sets. I enjoy having the girls embrace the game and go play basketball, not lock them into sitting into zones or being robots on offense.?
She?ll inherit a team that went 11-9 in the regular season, finishing behind powerhouses Braintree and North in the Bay State Carey race, then losing to Franklin, 54-47, in the first round of the Division 1 South tournament. Those Panthers advanced all the way to the South final before losing to Braintree.
?It?s a very tough league, and we also have a tough nonleague schedule that we plan to keep,? said Hauben. ?But I?m confident Amanda is going to do a great job. She?s very poised, very mature, and I?m impressed with how articulate and passionate she is. I?m looking forward to working with her.?
taraji p. henson shuttle discovery bonnie raitt internal revenue service intc tupac andrew shaw
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.