By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)
TEANECK, N.J. — Main Street in Hackensack at 5 a.m. was completely deserted, not a soul on a normally busy street.
Approaching the Bogota Savings Bank Center on the FDU campus, the sun had just begun to rise. The early morning sojourn was to take in an FDU women’s basketball practice. As part of an ever-expanding quest for more basketball knowledge and insight, yours truly reached out to FDU head coach Stephanie Gaitley to attend a few practices. Gaitley enthusiastically and graciously approved.
This past Wednesday was my second practice. The group workout, once again, was scheduled from 6 to 7:30 a.m. Settling in courtside at 5:20, two players were already on the court taking shots. Players would soon come in, saying good morning as they placed a sports drink and/or energy bar on what is the press table during the regular season.
Lilly Parke was seated at the table. Her left knee had a wrap on it. The 6-foot-2 senior, a key contributor the past two seasons, said she tore her ACL on July 1. Parke’s surgery was scheduled for later that same morning. She expressed nervousness, which is natural, but wanted to be with her teammates before leaving for the hospital. Keeping a positive mindset, she said, “it will be tough being out all this season, but I am coming back the following year.”
Once all players had arrived, there was no prompting needed by the coaching staff. The group immediately took the court and began stretching. Everyone, players and coaches then met at halfcourt. Gaitley addressed the group, no doubt going over the message and practice priority of the day.
The 6 a.m. workout actually began about 12 minutes
early. Players arrived early to put up more shots and start practice before the scheduled time. This is what winners do, and is definitive proof that Gaitley has built a championship culture in her two years at the Northeast Conference school. Drills were timed on the scoreboard. Most lasted around five minutes. From the first drill of half-court pass and cut (without defenders), there was no standing around. Everyone was active.
Around 6:15, Gaitley’s husband, Frank, arrived with two boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts. For now, such a treat was farthest from anyone’s mind. The 3-on-2 full-court drill combined passing, decision making, defense and conditioning. It reminded me of something Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley once said. Simply, if you just put players through running drills to condition, they might complain and not give it all. Include a ball and passing and shooting, and they will run as hard as you want as long as you want.
If a point during practice needed to be addressed, Gaitley would usually make a comment or suggestion. Assistant coaches Jessica Simmonds, Jeremy Thompson and Ty Rozier all had the opportunity to give active input as well. Occasionally, Frank Gaitley, who has Division I assistant coaching experience, interjected from his seat on the sidelines. Each time a coach, or Frank, pointed something out, it was not based on criticism. Rather, if correction was necessary, it was done in a teaching manner.
After a few drills, one player would shoot a 1-and-1 free throw. If she did not convert, her group would run a couple sprints. This was done several times, getting everyone acclimated to shooting free throws after running to simulate going to the foul line during game action.
Another interesting drill saw two players pass to each other going up the floor. At half-court, the last player with the ball went on offense while the other played defense, a good sequence including conditioning as well, part of a number of drills incorporating catching and shooting, moving without the ball and defending on or off the ball. At this point, teams know their philosophy on the offensive and defensive ends. These drills are fundamental building blocks for what they are trying to accomplish on both ends of the floor.
Around 7 a.m., the team stopped for a break, then gathered for a group prayer as Lilly Parke was leaving for the hospital. Yours truly was asked by Gaitley to join in. It was an honor and special moment to be included. Parke then received hugs and well wishes before leaving with Rozier.
Last week, only about five minutes were devoted to 5-on-5 scrimmaging. This week, there was a five-minute 5-on-5 half-court session, plus a 10-minute 5-on-5 full-court session as well. Passing, movement off the ball, and defense were prioritized. On defense, it should be noted, players talked and communicated frequently, which is an attribute of a good defense. The two groups then went to the foul line for a minute. The free throw count of the respective groups was tallied on the scoreboard. Nothing like adding a little competition to the foul shooting. Just before wrapping it up was a five-minute session of shots from half-court. It was in a light-hearted vein, but several players found nothing but net. Following practice, ending about 7:40, Gaitley quickly left.
“I have a youth clinic at Ocean City (NJ) today,” she said on exiting.
Coach Simmonds was at one end of the floor talking with one player. On the other end, Thompson put Ava Renninger and Kailee McDonald through individual workouts. Both are sophomore guards. Renninger gained a wealth of accolades following an excellent freshman year. McDonald was a solid contributor in relief, and will be counted on to play a bigger role this coming season for the Knights. Director of basketball operations Nickie Carter was finishing up with other post-practice details.
With a live recruiting period coming up, all the FDU coaches would be going on the road to various AAU events. The FDU players, in this busy month, would be back on the court from 4:30 through 6:00 for pickup games. Not every day has a team workout, but each day in July has an itinerary. The next day, for instance, called for study hall (summer school is in session) from 9 to 10:30 a.m., weight lifting from 11 to 12, and individual workouts from 2 to 4.
Exiting the center came a thought. The casual fan may feel this is the offseason. In truth, there is no such animal these days for players and coaches alike.
The practice session seemed to fly by, a testament to the staff organization, plus player preparation and execution. Later that day, thank you e-mails were sent to the FDU staff. Among the responses came from Ty Rozier, who added, “Lilly’s surgery went great and she is now in recovery mode.”
Prayers answered.
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