As a season starts, what lessons were learned from last season that can help make this season a success?

I believe that as we start this season, the best lessons we learned from last year are better preparation for each game. Last year, our thought was, "If we take care of what we are good at, the game will take care of itself."  This year, we have been reviewing last year's films, and we intend to spend more time as a team watching game film. Better preparation will lead to a more focused game plan.

You won some big games in your first season as the head coach, and your team seemed to grow with each game. Now you must hit a reset button and calibrate your new team to your style of play. Do you tend to change your style of play to fit the players that come in, or do you have them follow a system that they can grow into over the season?

Our philosophy, or style if you will, remains the same. We want to play up-tempo from baseline to baseline on both offense and defense. We have recruited the style of student-athletes who like to play in this system and want to improve their play and their teams' play each day. There is a lot of change of mindset for the new players as we allow a lot of freedom and ownership for their success. Once they realize they have a voice in what we do, we start to see their vision widen and excitement in just playing basketball.

Last year you said, "We want to continue with the focus of creating a culture of excellence here at MCC…"  I saw throughout the season that your team grew on the court and off, so your team was responding to your style. How do you help keep that message to remain in the forefront of their minds?

This year, we have the mantra, " To Get Her". We want to give up good for great in every decision we make on and off the court. To Get Her the ball when she is open, To Get Her to the next step of her dream, To Get Her to the next level in the game... When you put it all together, we can't be together without ToGetHer. It is a play on words, but we have a ton of buy-in, and this keeps the message in the forefront of their minds.

Your record was 11-20 last year but it always appeared you were in so many games. How do you get your team to improve even more this year?

Last year, we really wanted to get that 20-win mark. We focused a lot on the overall record, and when we hit the mid-season slump, we couldn't focus on getting back to the 500-mark. This year, we are looking at the season more like a baseball series. Each week we have two or three games. Our goal this year is to get out of each week with a winning record, or at least a split. By slicing the season into smaller points of focus, we feel we will be a bit sharper and more focused throughout the year. Twenty wins and the National Tournament is still our number one goal.

I noticed a few key players are returning this season, and of course, you lost a great player or two from last year. At a two-year college, how do you keep your team on track for a whole season while the roster is together for a short period of time?

Each student-athlete has their own goals and dreams, so the coaching staff must blend them to create synergy, fun, and intensity. Again, To Get Her to where she wants to go and or do during the season and after the season is key. We ask, what role will you play in her dreams? Recognize and be humble that you are part of her dream and that you play a big part in her future, so how will you do that? You can have a bad day, but what if your teammate's dream is to come true during a game or practice? Do you want to be the one piece that fell short? These women are strong and smart, and have the ability to make their own mark on the world.  The coaching staff feels that this is why and how these women will support each other all season long.

Basketball season is, quite honestly, a long season. You play at least 30 games. You travel a lot together. You win and lose together. What do you try to do to keep motivation and energy on the rise to keep any momentum going?

We have four rules: 

1. Basketball is a game, have fun.
2. Basketball is a game, have fun.
3. Always attack the basket, on offense and defense.
4. Trust, trust yourself, trust your teammates, trust your coaches, trust your plays, trust that the refs will make a bad call, trust that there is someone on the other team who is a lot better than you.

When momentum slides down, we ask them if they are having fun; those are the first two rules. If we aren't, the other two rules truly don't matter. If we are having fun, how are we doing on the other two rules? This takes off a ton of pressure from these ladies and coaches as well.

As mentioned, a new season is almost upon us. What do we spectators want to look for from this team? Lots of three-pointers? Fast breaks? Intense man-to-man defense?

I hope that the spectators want to come out and watch these women having fun, fast-breaking, aggressive woman-to-woman trapping defense, and a very unselfish team. We are hopeful that we have a better shot selection than we did last year. Although the 3-pointer is a big part of the game, we don't want to take as many this year as we did last year. We want to attack the basket and look for a kickout rather than stopping and popping like we did last year.

Is there someone we fans need to keep an eye out for? Maybe an exciting new player? And can you tell us some goals you have for this team? Or what goals might you have for an individual player?

All of our women are dynamic and can fill the stat sheet quickly, the returners have spent a lot of time in the off season on mastering their skill set. Bella Frohling and Cassiday Serpe return with the most time on the court from last year. Bella can still fill it up from anywhere in the gym, and Cassidy is going to surprise a lot of teams with her ability to get to the rim and finish as well as her corner three. We are excited about two transfers, Ari Corrado and Lyndsay Regnier, who bring a lot of speed and outside shooting to the team. A freshman to watch will be Ava Paceniak from Harvard. She has a great basketball IQ, and when her feet are set, watch out for three's.

In your second year as a head coach at MCC, do you have any personal goals for this season that you are setting for yourself?

I have set a few personal goals for this year. The first goal is that I couldn't ask the returners to come back in better shape if I wasn't willing to do that myself. Through hard work and discipline, I am 32 pounds lighter than I was at the end of last season and have a weekly routine of weightlifting and physical fitness that I am dedicated to. The other carries over from last year in that I want to have seven Academic All-Americans on the team. This is the true win for the program when we hit this. The last personal goal is that the coaching staff hopes MCC is recognized by local talent and that this is a place where Women's Basketball is well-respected. We want people to hear MCC, and think of Women's Basketball, and want to be a part of it.