Culture the key for Plymouth
PLYMOUTH — Plymouth head coach Micaela Schalliol is new on the job, but since Dave Duncan passed the torch in the spring she’s had a full summer to hit the ground running.
“It went as good as it could have gone,” said Schalliol. “The girls are buying into the culture that we are wanting to create, I’ve talked to every class, senior through freshman about how important this year is to building the culture moving forward. They are buying in, they are working hard and more importantly, they are playing as a family on and off the court which is amazing.”
“They are taking ownership of this team which is what we want.”
Continuity has been synonymous with Plymouth girls basketball. Dave Cox took over the program in the ‘90s and when he retired, his assistant Dave Duncan took over. Schalliol was a member of Duncan’s staff, keeping that connection alive.
It doesn’t mean Schalliol won’t bring her own personality to the game. A Bremen grad, she played at Grace College and will bring new energy to the program.
So far she is pleased with her team’s response.
“They are focused in when we are putting in new things,” she said.
“They are working hard to learn the new drills and new names for things.”
Similar to recent years with Duncan it will be an “all hands on deck” approach to the new season.
“We are going to lean on everybody,” she said. “Every single person on this team is going to impact how our season goes and where we finish.”
Schalliol’s Pilgrims will get after it from the start.
“The speed of the game is going to increase,” she said. “We are going to play at a much faster pace, getting into teams defensively and a lot about transition baskets.”
“We are putting in some different presses, some different half-court defenses,” said Schalliol “We are going to mix it up with girls running different positions they know that they need to know all the positions and be ready when their name is called.”
That same thought process extends to other parts of the culture.
“We’ve talked a lot to the girls about being a servant leader and we’ve started a program called ‘Big Sister, Little Sister’ just to allow the younger girls K-8 to see the kind of program we want to run,” said Schalliol. “Getting them involved is important so they know what we want to do when they get to the high school.”
Success for the year revolves around that as well.
“If there is an old lady walking into the store and our girls are there with their Plymouth gear on, I want to hear that they opened the door for her,” said Schalliol. “If I hear those