New coach hopes to duplicate high school success at PDS

Katz brings intensity to girls’ squad

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Jessica Katz’s vision for the Princeton Day School girls’ basketball team comes from her own experiences as a player.
   The first-year Panthers head coach doesn’t have to go back too far to find the model for her new program.
   Nine years ago, Katz was completing her senior year at Mount Anthony Union as a player selected to compete in the Vermont-New Hampshire All-Star Game. Last year, Mount Anthony won its second Vermont Division I title in six years and fourth overall since 1988. Division I is the largest division in Vermont.
   ”It’s a very competitive program,” Katz said. “I played on varsity four years and left practice bruised and battered every day, but better for it.
   ”I’m in very close contact with my (former) coach now. I’m pulling things from him. Sports were very important there. I remember big final four games and traveling AAU basketball and national championships for basketball. So I’ve had a variety of basketball exposure in my high school years that have surprisingly enough prepared me for coaching more than college stuff. I was a basketball player in high school so those are the memories that stick with me.”
   Katz takes over for Sue Repko. Katz was an assistant on the staff the past two years along with Rob Tuckman, who remains with the program as an assistant to Katz this year. Katz’s familiarity with many of her Panthers’ personnel from last season has smoothed the transition.
   ”I worked in the admission office here before I started teaching,” said Katz, who teaches fifth and sixth grade humanities at PDS. “Knowing some of the girls through that process also has helped. While we’re doing some different things, it’s nice to have some continuity. It’s nice for them as well as me.”
   Katz is hoping to help the Panthers improve from last year’s 6-15 season. To do so, the tone of practices has changed.
   ”We’re picking up the intensity,” Katz said. “Our practices are more intense and we’re trying to build a program here. We have a great freshman class. We have great sophomores. We have great players from every year. We have players who have a ton of experience and the new players bring so much too. That new focus and intensity, and the team bonding, they’re working very well on the court this year, and we’ve been focusing on that a lot this year.
   ”We’ve been focusing a lot on the chemistry and intensity. We’ve talked about the idea that when you give your best, the team does its best. It’s a simple idea, but it helps.”
   That idea helped Katz develop into an all-star player who was recruited to play at Williams College. After one year on the varsity, she elected to compete for the junior varsity while pursuing some outside interests.
   ”I realized there were some other things to do,” Katz said. “They take their sports seriously there. I played JV for the rest of the time and had a blast. JV was made up of a lot of girls who were recruited for varsity. It was a lot of fun, and not a year-round three- or four-hour a day thing.”
   Katz is hoping to make the Panthers’ high school experience something like hers was. Practices were competitive and the hard work was rewarded with success on game days.
   ”It was very competitive,” Katz said. “My high school background is where I’m pulling a lot of the stuff I’m trying to do here. It’s a very competitive program. They have won the state championship now several times.”
   The Panthers would like the opportunity to play for some titles as well. The PDS players have responded well in picking up the new points of emphasis. Katz has tried to build on some of the things the Panthers had used before while improving other areas.
   ”We’re doing different things on offense,” she said. “Some of the inbounds plays and how we do things are familiar. The fact we’re familiar faces helps too.
   ”We’re making it a more competitive program and I think that’s already been seen in practices with the way the girls are pushing each other so it’s been fun.”
   Katz has always been a student of the game. It could be one reason she developed into such a strong player. And it’s a reason that could make her a good coach.
   ”I always wanted to be a head coach,” Katz said. “I used to read all of Phil Jackson’s books. I’ve always been interested. I’ve always been interested in not just playing the game, but how the game works. It’s nice to be thinking about the way it works.”
   When thinking about her basketball experiences, the time when everything worked best for her was in high school. Now, Jessica Katz has the chance to pattern the Panthers after her own successful school days at Mount Anthony.
   ”I’m thrilled to have this opportunity,” she said. “I’m taking it very seriously. It’s just fun. It’s hard and it’s fun. It’s been great.”