Pirates hoops has new coach
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Mike Sheehan enters his first season as West Windsor-Plainsboro High South boys basketball coach feeling like he is well prepared for what lies ahead.
Sheehan spent the last two years as an assistant for the Pirates under former head coach Bob Schurtz. When Schurtz stepped down from his position after last season, Sheehan was moved into the head coach position and had an entire summer to get his system in place.
”That was a real benefit,” said Sheehan, whose team will open the season tonight against Hopewell Valley. “When you go through a transition it takes time to get acclimated to new people and the new way a coach does things. We had the summer to do summer league and camps and get to know each other. The guys got to know me better and I got to know them. I already knew most of them from being the JV coach and assistant varsity the last two years. Without that experience it would have been much tougher.”
Sheehan played high school basketball locally at Lawrence High and went to Rutgers University, where he spent a season as a manager with the men’s basketball program. Once he graduated and got into teaching, he knew he wanted to be a coach as well.
”I volunteered for two years at Lawrence where I went to school,” Sheehan said. “When I was at Rutgers I got a chance to see what coaching was like and the structure that went into running a program. You get an appreciation for how organized you need to be and what an efficient and productive practice looks like without a lot of standing around. I saw that here with Bob who did a great job.”
Sheehan takes over a program that has enjoyed a great deal of success under Schurtz and returns a pair of key seniors in Danny Borup and Tommy Hussong. Sheehan hopes to maintain that level of success as he steps in.
”Bob had a lot of success and knew a ton about the game and how to manage the kids and the program,” Sheehan said. “He was great with the behind the scenes stuff most people don’t know about. It was a positive experience for me and helped me feel more prepared that I can handle what falls on me as head coach. There is so much from fundraising to making sure we have the equipment we need and practice jerseys and all the little things that as an assistant you don’t need to deal with.”
It helps that Sheehan has a pair of key returners to help with the transition, not only for what they do on the court but off the court as well.
”We have two returning starters with the varsity with Danny Borup and Tommy Hussong,” Sheehan said. “They have been great leaders since I have taken over. They were leaders before and they continue to do a good job for me and help with the transition. We have a returning sophomore, Jon Kline, who played varsity all last season. They are three very good players.
”Some other guys are coming up without the experience at the varsity level so having those three is a good benefit so the young guys see the hard work that needs to be put in. They know who I am and what I expect. One thing I love is they are all great kids from the freshmen up to the varsity seniors. We have a great group of kids.”
For Sheehan, the head coaching job came quicker than he might have expected, but he feels ready for the challenge.
”It had always been something I was working towards,” he said. “When I started as a volunteer at Lawrence I was trying to get my feet wet. I had played for (Lawrence coach) Pat Tarrant and learned a lot from him coaching with him for two years. It was another instance where you see all the extra stuff that goes into being a head coach.
”I always wanted to be a head coach. I never thought it would happen so quickly. I was fortunate to land in a great situation and I learned so much from Bob. When he decided to step aside it worked out I had a relationship with the players and administration.”
And tonight he gets his first shot at being the leader of a program.
”There are a lot of good teams in our league and I am excited to get started with Hopewell,” Sheehan said. “We’ll see how it goes. I am excited and the boys are excited and ready to go.”