New-look Belle Vernon girls basketball expects to build on success

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, November 19, 2018 | 6:30 PM

Gone are five senior starters and the coach who led Belle Vernon to a second-place finish in Section 3-4A and an appearance in the PIAA playoffs last season.

In their place are a group of promising-but-unproven players and a first-year coach eager to show how his system translates into on-court success.

Despite the turnover, the new-look Leopards expect to continue making postseason plans.

“Having some more experience would be nice,” coach Ronnie Drennan said. “But we expect to compete for a WPIAL (playoff) spot. We’re going to be doing things differently than most. We’ll be a dribble-drive team, and we plan to aggressively press.”

The formula worked wonders for the Belle Vernon boys during his five years as an assistant for Kyle DeGregorio, who left to take over the Baldwin girls, and Drennan already knew a majority of the girls roster through I’m Possible Training, an approach to the sport he taught players of all ages and levels in the area.

“It’s a different way to look at the game through a skill approach,” said Drennan, a former Point Park player who replaced Lisa Fairman. “Players have to hold themselves accountable, and there’s a purpose to it. Everything and every drill has a purpose to it. More kids are going to see the floor, and we’re working on (enhancing their ability) to handle the ball. We want every player to be able to bring the ball down the floor.”

Seniors Lindsay Steeber and Kyle Williams could lead Belle Vernon’s push. Juniors Vienna Bertram and Rachel Wobrak and with sophomores Taylor Rodriguez and Grace Henderson, a 6-foot-1 forward, will provide key minutes.

Steeber already sees improvement in the skill of Belle Vernon’s returning players.

“The biggest difference is ball handling. From the beginning of the summer to now, you can tell there’s been a lot of skill work,” the point guard said. “What we’re doing is something most teams don’t do. We’re not the tallest or the quickest team, but skill-wise, I think we’ll be fine.”

Drennan and Steeber see positives to Belle Vernon’s fresh start.

For Drennan, it was more than his first chance to run a high school program.

“This really is the perfect opportunity for me,” he said. “To take over and start to build a program the way I want to, which is going to take time, is what I was looking for.”

For Steeber, it’s an opportunity for players to prove themselves and for her to showcase leadership skills.

“Last year, we were a game from being section champs,” she said. “With a new coach, and we’re young, so nobody is expecting much from us. We’re all super-excited. The girls are great, and we’re closer as a team than we were before.

“I’m trying to take a leadership role being one of two seniors. As a junior last year, with five seniors, I didn’t want to speak over them, but I’m ready to step into that role.”

Belle Vernon steps into the season Dec. 7 against Red Lion (District 3) at the McKeesport Tournament. Section play begins Dec. 13 at Ringgold. The section also included Elizabeth Forward, McKeesport, Mt. Pleasant, West Mifflin and Yough.

“This is a very exiting opportunity for us,” Drennan said. “We’re kind of like an underdog, but with more experience and hard work, we’re going to get better.”

Mike Kovak is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Mike at mkovak@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MKovak_Trib .

Tags: Belle Vernon