Players on the team have said that the new coach, Gary Neal has positively affected the team’s success. He led them to a regional championship victory. When he became their head coach, he implemented a whole new offense and different defensive principles that benefited the team. The reason that the team didn’t make it as far last year was because they lost two of their best players, which were point guards. They were the leaders of the team, and it took some time for the team and coach to adjust with a younger backcourt. The change of a new coach benefits the team because it exposes them to different coaching styles, which provides them with more knowledge about basketball. This is important because all coaches are different and vary with the amount of information they know and can teach athletes. Many boys on the team are planning on playing in college so it’s important to discover other techniques.  

The new coach has specific coaching techniques that are helpful to the growth of the team. One of the techniques is called “going under a screen” which is a defensive strategy where the on-ball defender moves behind the screener to stay with the ball-handler. This often gives up a jump shot to prevent a drive to the basket. The benefit of this technique is that it allows for less paint touches. This makes the team settle for outside shots. This new coach is different from past coaches because he is more vocal and shows a lot of emotion which is necessary for team bonding and improvement. The new coach is also relaxed with the team most of the time at practice. The coach has around 6-7 years of experience in teaching. But in the past, he played professional basketball, so he has a lot of knowledge of this sport.