The Next Step: Wesleyan University
I’m very proud to be representing the prestigious Wesleyan logo now.
Major change has never been my forte, but sometimes change is necessary and positive. One of those positive changes is underway right now as I am beginning my new job as the assistant and recruiting coordinator for the men’s basketball program at Wesleyan University.
These past two years at Bard have been incredibly special and successful. I owe an incredible debt of gratitude to Bard head coach Adam Turner for the opportunity he gave me. He trusted me to be his assistant and recruiting coordinator, evaluate and recruit both talent and character, give input to offensive and defensive strategies, plan an AAU Tournament, coordinate two summer camps, give input to both practice preparation and game day decisions and countless other things.
I got to meet absolutely incredible people at Bard, from the administration to the other coaches to the students. Everybody was incredibly supportive and the growth of both attendance and both general fan support over my two years was tremendous. I’d be remiss not to mention the two other assistant coaches that I had the chance to work with, Yonah Greenstein and Alexei Phillips. Both became friends, not just colleagues and along with Coach Turner, people I plan on staying in touch with for a long time.
Lastly, the bond I formed with our players was the single hardest thing to get past as I decided the move to Wesleyan was right for me. The rising seniors and juniors are five guys that I have spent two amazing years with. The rising sophomore and incoming freshman are people that I formed deep relationships with through the recruiting process and the older guys’ first year on campus. Telling those guys that I was leaving hurt. They’re going to accomplish so many amazing things on the court these next few years and I will be following closely for sure. Thank you to them for the hard work they put in and their acceptance of my coaching. Without them, I wouldn’t have this opportunity that I do.
The program I am joining at Wesleyan is a special one. It’s led by head coach Joe Reilly, who is a person, coach and leader that I admire and am looking forward to working with closely. I have had the chance to meet just a few of the players, but those guys have been incredible athletes that seems to be even better students, people and representatives of Wesleyan. It’s a world-class University, widely considered to be among the top few liberal arts schools in the country. And the basketball program is top notch. Last season’s Cardinals team won the NESCAC and reached the NCAA Tournament. I am incredibly grateful to Coach Reilly and the Wesleyan community for this opportunity and I look forward to these next few years.
Of all my goals that I accomplished at Bard, I am proud to say that I feel I left the program in a better place when I left than it was when I got there. It’s going to be hard to do that for a defending NESCAC champion, but I’m going to work my butt off every second of every day to accomplish that goal.
CoachSass.com 