Souhegan girls roll on with new coach

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Is coaching stability overrated? It was an easy question to ask Tuesday night after watching a down-to-the-wire thriller between two of the top girls basketball teams in Class I, Hollis/Brookline and Souhegan.

The Sabers prevailed 64-61 to improve to 8-1 on the season. The now 8-1 Cavaliers suffered their first loss. Both teams played intense, impassioned basketball for the full 32 minutes.

And each is being guided by its third coach in less than two years.

Wiley Billings took over at Souhegan just two weeks ago when Nikki Flores, less than halfway through her second season, abruptly resigned for what were called “personal reasons.’’

In just his first season at the school, Billings was promoted from junior varsity to varsity and is currently handling practices and games for both teams.

Two years ago, Bob Murphy was a very successful Class L coach at Merrimack High School. He’d guide the team into the semifinals, then three months later be told that he wasn’t being rehired as coach.

His bitterness over the way it was handled has subsided since landing at Hollis/Brookline, where he discovered a talented group of players who, some might argue, were just a little positive reinforcement away from being a Class I title contender.

“We’ve never had a coach like Bob Murphy before,’’ Hollis/Brookline senior Sultana Svirk said. “He’s really brought out our potential.

“He tells us and shows us how we need to improve, but he’s always positive and he’s extremely organized.’’

As far as coaching goes, Souhegan senior Jackie Jones has been through the ringer of late. A volleyball player, she saw coach Tara Marandos resign at the end of the regular season, but before the team’s playoff appearance for the aforementioned “personal reasons.’’

Then Flores, a coach with whom she developed a close relationship in four years, stepped down, making it four coaches in four months for Jones.

“It’s been rough because Nikki and I had become really close,’’ Jones said. “It a tough position for coach Billings because he was new to begin with, and now he’s the new varsity coach.’’

Billings is not only adjusting to a new school but a new gender.

He was a boys coach at Mascenic for six years before, like Murphy, being told he was no longer needed at his former school.

“I’ve learned that you can’t be as heavy-handed coaching girls as you can be with boys,’’ Billings said. “But I don’t need to be heavy. The girls play extremely hard.

“I tell them if they make mistakes, as long as they’re aggressive mistakes, I have no problem.’’

In a fourth quarter filled with lead chances Jones, who made a clutch shot at the buzzer to beat Hollis/Brookline in an opening round tournament game last winter, had seven of her 16 points and four of her eight rebounds in the fourth quarter.

“It’s been a tough transition for everyone,’’ Jones said, “but as long as we stick together as a team we’ll survive this.’’

Jones actually wants to do more than just survive.

After two straight trips to the semifinals with two different coaches she’d like to make it a step farther with coach No. 3.

“Good talent makes good coaching; there’s no mistake about that,’’ Billings said. “You know a coach is good when he takes mediocre talent and is successful.’’

With solid feeder programs at both schools and plenty of young talent already in the system, it’s an ability neither Murphy nor Billings will need to exhibit, at least not right away.

Gary Fitz can be reached at 594-6469 or gfitz@nashuatelegraph.com.