White River Junction
The Hurricanes have had seven coaches in six years. Guerin, who took over the team this season after being hired for the job in 2015, is Hartford’s latest coach; he sat out last winter to aid his ailing father. Dave Davis, now the girls basketball coach at South Royalton, went 9-11 with the Hurricanes as the team’s interim head coach last season before falling in the first round of the VPA Division II tournament.
Guerin is still getting used to his role, a learning experience that has dragged the longtime Lebanon junior varsity boys basketball coach into uncharted off-the-court territory — assigning jersey numbers, organizing bake sales, talking to the media. But games like Monday night’s against Woodstock should help, as the Hurricanes defeated young, inexperienced Woodstock, 43-19, after a disappointing loss to Mount St. Joseph on Friday to improve to 3-2.
Grain of salt or not, his message is working. At this point, that’s all Guerin can ask for.
“The whole culture is changing,” Guerin said. “We’re not just trying to do it on the girls’ side, either. We’re trying to work on it as a whole over here at Hartford. (Hartford boys basketball) coach (Steve) Landon, (Hartford athletic director) Jeff (Moreno) and myself are going to sit down and look at the whole programs and try to figure out how we can make it better.”
Hartford, with its quick passing and a healthy number of shot attempts, got offense from 11 different players on Monday, led by Megan Bushway with nine points and Corey Leiberman with eight. The Hurricanes’ press defense kept Woodstock off balance, forcing 12 turnovers in the first half and another seven in the second.
The offensive cohesion, after a 44-22 loss to MSJ, felt even better.
“That definitely helps us pull it together as a team,” Hartford senior captain Stefani Wagar said. “That’s probably one of the best games that we’ve had for passing and shooting. … It feels really good.”
Wagar, a four-year basketball player for the Hurricanes, has seen more coaches come and go than she can remember. It’s left Hartford at a complete disadvantage, she said, with the Canes facing long-tenured coaches from opposing teams, running the same plays and strategies for teams with a better understanding of the playbook than Wagar has ever had.
“I think if Troy stays with the program for the years to come, this team is going to be really, really good,” Wagar said. “Everything we do in practice just sets us up (for success). It’s like, ‘This guy has it all figured out.’ … We’ve won games with the coaches we’ve had in the past, but I think Troy is one of the best ones we’ve had. I’m really glad he’s here this year with us, and I hope that he stays.”
From the outset, Guerin has seemed different to Wagar. His drills in practice are more explanations than orders, his mix of “softie” personality and “hard-nosed” coach — Wagar’s terms — is a breath of fresh air for a team looking for a little bit of both.
“He knows the game extremely well,” Wagar said. “He’s really willing to help us or stop in the middle of a scrimmage and say, ‘This is what you need to fix.’ Past coaches would be like, ‘You need to fix that,’ instead of showing us what we needed to do to fix it. He takes the time to stop and fix things, go over them and do them correctly so that we don’t mess them up.”
Woodstock (2-4), after managing only two points in the first quarter, found its rhythm in the second, outscoring the Hurricanes, 10-4, before two quick baskets by Hartford put the hosts up, 20-12, at the half. The Wasps scored only seven points in the second half, though Madison Schulz provided Woodstock with an offensive spark: three 3-pointers and a game-high 13 points.
First-year Woodstock head coach Timmy MacDonnell said much of the inconsistency was due to inexperience, though some of it was Hartford’s full-court press. The Wasps host Green Mountain on Friday.
“They’re a strong team; they have a lot of seniors,” MacDonnell said. “We’re going to work to be more consistent.”
Guerin said he loves to teach the game of basketball; it’s what keep him coaching. Though his competitive fire has taken a hit during his year off, Guerin said he’s starting to learn just what it takes to be a varsity head coach — something he said he’s always wanted to try. But he also said he understands the urgency for coaching consistency from his players and the tailspin around the program he now finds himself in charge of.
“Honestly, I’m glad I’m back into basketball,” he said. “I love working with kids, and I love coaching kids. I think I love the teaching aspect more than I love the competition aspect. I’ve got to get that part back.”
Hartford travels to Harwood on Saturday.
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.