Summer basketball allows coaches to evaluate talent
BY JEFF APPELBLATT
Correspondent

SCOTT PILLING staff Freehold Township's Lorinne Coogan makes the pass in front of the defense of Howell's Lauren Kolacki during a summer league game in Freehold Township on July 3.

The average person would probably not name basketball among the list of top summer sports to watch.

Schools are out and the majority of basketball seasons are over.

But for basketball coaches, the summer may be the best time of the year to watch basketball. Whether it be a local recreation league or the WNBA, summer basketball is perfect for regular season preparation.

Freehold Township head coach John Sciarappa, who runs the Freehold Township Recreation League, sees it as the perfect opportunity to get players ready for the following season.

"The varsity team was very young and we played great this year," Sciarappa said about his Lady Patriots. "I owe that to the summer league. It really gave them a nice start.

"Players know what I'll be running after playing [for me] in the summer," he added. "This gives me a chance to give a look."

Though the league has seen a vast decrease in participants this summer (from 18 teams to seven), that doesn't mean the league has lost any of its significance.

"I don't understand what these other programs are doing," Sciarappa said about the drop in teams. "There's only seven this year [referring to teams from Long Branch, Lakewood, St. Rose, Howell, and two from Freehold]."

But the 30-year coach won't let the decline bother him. He's too focused on his own players.

"This league gives me more of an idea and a ground to know who the better players are," he said. "They're given an opportunity to show me what they can do.

"I want them to develop," he added. "I want them to show me everything they could."

So if Sciarappa coaches one of the Freehold squads, who coaches the other?

Sciarappa.

But what if the two teams face off vs. one another?

"I sit back and let the varsity players coach the team," Sciarappa said. "Or I lay back, watch the game, and let the kids coach themselves. It builds camaraderie. Besides, I think they like that better than listening to me."

When he is coaching, his players know his game plan.

"Every four minutes we're rotating another five," he said. "I don't care who the best player is, I just want the kids to be competitive and show me everything [they] can."

In his own words, his overall method of coaching during the summer: "I'm just sitting there giving them knowledge."

Sciarappa can only hope that the knowledge he's giving this summer leads to a successful 2007-08 season for Freehold Township.