Woodstock
The split time has forced MacDonnell, who lives in Hartland, to compartmentalize his responsibilities, but also revealed a large different between the two.
Administrating, with all its paperwork and logistics, feels like work. Coaching, for MacDonnell, scratches an itch.
“I have a strong passion for basketball and I love working with kids,” MacDonnell said on Friday night after his team suffered a 49-30 defeat to Randolph. “That’s why I got into education. It’s definitely a unique situation, I know, being the AD at a different school. But I think I’m doing a nice job of balancing my time. When I’m here, I’m all in. When I’m there, I’m all in for Springfield.
“I knew it would be a lot,” he added. “But it was something I really wanted to do.”
The Wasps’ coaching vacancy opened up quite literally at the last minute.
Woodstock athletic director Justin Wardwell suddenly was in panic mode three weeks before the start of winter preseason. He needed a girls basketball coach. Justin Smith, after one year with the team, had accepted a full-time job with Dartmouth Coach and needed to step away.
Lucky for Wardwell, he got the news while at the Vermont Principals Association leadership conference in Burlington, and he was surrounded by athletic directors and high school administrators who would know what to do.
He reached out to MacDonnell, a friend, who said he would put the posting up online as soon as possible in the hope that someone would respond in time.
But MacDonnell thought about it more after the conference. He had played four years of basketball at Gordon (Mass.) College, served as an assistant coach at Mount Mansfield (Jericho, Vt.) before accepting a math teacher job at Springfield.
He also was the Cosmos’ boys basketball coach for several years before taking a year off last winter to get used to his new responsibilities as athletic director.
But the urge to coach still lingered. He called Wardwell back and said he was interested. He knew most of Woodstock’s athletes from field hockey; his fiancee is Wasps field hockey coach Anne Doton, who also teaches at Springfield. He was a familiar face who wanted to coach varsity, and the athletic department needed a coach in the worst way.
It was the perfect fit.
“I knew a lot of the girls through field hockey, but not as basketball players,” MacDonnell said. “I’m trying to learn their strengths and weaknesses, they’re trying to learn mine. We’ve talked a lot about, ‘We’ve got to get comfortable with each other.’ That takes time.”
MacDonnell first talked to administrators at Springfield to make sure they were OK with it before he accepted the job, but he said coaches and parents from both schools have been supportive so far.
“It takes a lot of support from our administration and coaches, at both schools,” he said. “I’m thankful for that. The team at Woodstock has been very supportive of my situation, as have the coaches at Springfield.”
For now, MacDonnell is focused on his new team. In only his second game with the group, it’s hard to get a complete sense of every athletes ability, but he said he’s liked what he’s seen so far.
“There’s things that we need to clean up,” he said. “But the effort that we’ve shown in the last three weeks, I think we can.”
On Friday, the Wasps were simply overwhelmed by an experienced opponent. Randolph’s quick-passing attack and full-court pressure led to quick turnovers and easy buckets all night long. Ten different Galloping Ghosts scored.
Woodstock senior Mariah Luce led the Wasps with 15 points. Loretta Blakeney, also a senior, added 12 points. The Wasps (1-1) were outscored 26-12 in the second half.
Along with the usual responsibilities of learning a new group and a new team, MacDonnell also must build trust in his younger players that he’s committed to the team for the long run. The group features seven freshmen, many of whom saw playing time on Friday.
“I talked with our older group of girls about that,” he said. “It takes time. … But I think the more we work together, the easier those bonds become.”
Woodstock hosts Springfield on Feb. 8, a situation that MacDonnell said he’s trying not to think about yet. But the game will open up plenty of parallels. MacDonnell technically holds hiring power over his opponent on the other bench, Springfield coach Joe Costello.
Athletes on the Springfield roster fall under MacDonnell’s responsibility. The two also work together on the Cosmos’ girls basketball team, meaning MacDonnell has some idea of Springfield’s strengths and weaknesses.
But Woodstock’s new coach calls it as much of a edge as any scouting report would give him. If anything, his close relationship to an opposing school makes Feb. 8 more intriguing.
“My focus is we’re trying to improve,” MacDonnell said. “The hope is that we’ll be better in February than we are today. The girls at Springfield are great kids. Coach Joe does a great job with them. (He) and I are friends. … I look forward to any opportunity to compete.”
The Wasps travel to West Rutland on Wednesday.
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.