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First-year Genoa basketball coach Mike DeStazio has a luxury that many incoming coaches would die for.
“My top seven players are my seniors,” he said, “and any of them could start. It all depends on our opponent. I could go big with Bailee Adams in the lineup, or we can go smaller and be more of a perimeter team. We’re either big with average speed, or smaller and quick.”
DeStazio was the girls coach at Woodmore for nine years (1994-2003) and compiled a 149-52 career record with two SLL titles and one Division III district title. He said he’s thrilled to be back on the sideline.
“It feels great,” he said. “I’m having a lot of fun. The last three or four years I’d go to a basketball game and I’m not a fan, I’m a coach. I love to coach and I really love being around kids because I think I can make a difference in their life, and not just on the court.”
After a series of different coaches, it appears that Lake boys’ basketball finally has their man. And it only took eight different coaches in 11 years. Ryan Bowen was hired in May to take over a reeling Flyers program that has combined to go 7-34 in the past two seasons under Jim Scharer and Coach Bowen couldn’t be more ready for the challenge.
“I’ve been in this community forever. I used to play for Lake and I have coached here for the last three years, ran the youth program for the last seven years, so I’ve been involved and know a lot of the kids. I am extremely excited because I know I have a good group of kids that fit my style of play.”
Bowen brings a run and gun, up-tempo style of offense to Lake, something the Flyers haven’t done during the last two regimes under Jim Scharer and Jim Welling. For an offense that only averaged 44.7 points per game last season, Bowen thinks his up-tempo offense is exactly what the Flyers need to get back on the winning track.
“We don’t have a lot of post players. We have a lot of guards but my style is going to be to try and get a lot of shots off, run and press, so the abundance of guards fits me pretty well. The last couple of years they thought it would be better to run some clock. That is not my style. I would rather see the kids push the ball. My style of play is fun for both the players and the fans.
“I keep telling the kids it’s hard to be a winner and it’s easy to be a loser. We’ve had a few scrimmages that have been very successful at all levels and because the kids are going to play so hard for me, we will win games. In the last ten years,” says Bowen, “I just don’t think Lake basketball has been played really hard. I think they went through the motions, but you can see it’s starting to change.”
This past summer, Woodmore hired Brad Sander as the new boys varsity basketball coach.
Sander is a graduate of Genoa and was the athletic director at Lakota before coming to Woodmore. Coach Sander will be replacing former coach Rod Daniel.
Sander is looking forward to the basketball season.
“With the ability I’ve seen from previous games, I feel that we have the ability to win and win big.”
Sander is looking to build a winning program right now, not in a few years.
“He is a very likeable coach,” said Athletic Director Tom Tucker.
Along with Coach Sander, a new junior varsity coach, Brett Mitchell, will also lead the Wildcats in a new direction.
Players seem to be excited about the new coaches as well.
“I’m very excited to have a new coaching staff...I’m excited for the changes to the program,” said senior Grant Weirich.
“No matter who the coach is, we have a group of hard working guys that will go out there and bust their butts,” said Weirich.
Sander has not set any specific expectations; he wants to wait until the season begins to see how players will interact with one another. Weirich says his expectations are very high for this season. Everyone will be focused on trying to improve from last season’s record.
(Press contributing writer Nate Lowe and Woodmore students Kayla Altemenious and Brad Flick of the student publication Window to Woodmore contributed to this story.)
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