New girls basketball coaches start preparing their teams

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, June 17, 2018 | 10:39 PM

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With close to two months since they were hired and with the summer beginning, new girls basketball coaches Nick Dizon (Kiski Area) and Courtney Kordes (Highlands) are starting to ramp up workouts to get their players ready in new systems for the 2018-19 season.

“We only had a few workouts here and there before (last) week,” said Kordes, a former Highlands basketball standout who teaches in the district and also coaches junior high softball. “A couple of the girls are involved in softball, and there were so many other things with the end of the school year.

“But so far, the girls who have been able to be (at workouts) have worked hard. We started out the first couple of workouts breaking down the fundamentals and building from there.”

Kordes takes over from Drew Jonczak, who guided the Golden Rams for three seasons. The school district opened the position in February after the 2017-18 season ended.

The returning Highlands players hope to improve on last year’s 2-18 mark (2-10 Section 1-4A).

“We’ve had the chance to do a lot of individualized work within these workouts,” Kordes said. “One workout, only one girl was there (Sarah Sawhook), but we got an hour and a half of good work in. We got a lot accomplished.”

Said Sawhook: “I was worked so hard. I was shocked at how tired I was just from that one workout session, but it was good.”

Sawhook, a rising junior, said she is excited to learn more of the new system with her teammates.

“It’s a little bit of a change, but it will be interesting to see things with a new coaching perspective from (coach Kordes),” she said. “I’m hopeful for what this team can do.”

Four-year starter and all-conference performer Renee Cebula (16.1 points per game) graduated. She will play at Chatham.

Rising senior Jaharee Holt, a 6-foot center, and rising junior guard Alexa Marasco are recovering from ACL injuries. Holt suffered her injury at Highlands’ holiday tournament, and Marasco injured her knee in a late-season game against Knoch.

“It’s tough to not have them with us in workouts, but I know they are working hard to get back from those injuries and be ready,” Kordes said. “We will monitor their progress right up to the start of the season.”

Kiski fell one win short of a spot in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. A core of players, including Valley News Dispatch first-team all-star Harley Holloway, returns in search of that postseason trip.

Dizon replaced Nick Ionadi, who resigned after this past season. Dizon said workouts are becoming more populated since the spring sports season and school year ended.

“We had a number of girls doing track, and there was softball as well. Some still do soccer,” said Dizon, who spent the last four years as an assistant in the boys program at Gateway. “The girls work hard every day. There hasn’t been a practice where effort has been an issue. They understand that we as coaches demand excellent effort every day as we get to where we want to be.”

Summer league games at Plum have complemented the workouts, and Dizon said he saw improvement between the first game against Mars and the second against Woodland Hills.

“We wanted to match up against the best competition and be as battle-tested as possible when the new season gets here,” said Dizon, who also has put an emphasis on the players’ strength and conditioning work in addition to skill work in the new system. “We want to play fast and be relentless. The girls understand their strengths and weaknesses and are excited to improve on both.”

Kiski finished the 2017-18 season 7-14 and 3-9 in Section 4-5A, a game behind Plum for the fourth and final playoff spot in the section.

Holloway averaged 17.6 points, five rebounds and four assists as the Cavaliers won the most games in a season since 2011.

As Dizon likes what he has seen from his players, the players, including rising junior guard Hannah Potter, have responded in the new system.

“It’s going really well so far. We’ve been in here three times a week plus summer league games,” Potter said. “We’ve worked a lot on offenses, skills. Everyone has welcomed the new change and is getting after it. It’s something different for everyone.

“Considering we were one game from playoffs last year, we really want to get in here, get some reps in so we can be ready to take it further next year and get to playoffs. Obviously, we want to do better than past seasons.”

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Tags: Highlands, Kiski School