At the beginning of this boys basketball season, three coaches received new positions. Two of them, new JV coach Cory Patterson and assistant coach Konrad Laughman, are new to North this year. The third, Larry Green, was the former assistant coach who had taken over as the head coach for the entire boys program after former coach Mark Wright stepped down.

 “Basketball changed my life,” Green said. “I still remember coaches from my high school and college days and I remember just how much they taught me and I want to be like them for the athletes here at North.”

 Coming from playing on a high school and college team, Green understands the game and knows what to do to best help his athletes. The jump from player to coach after he came to North was difficult for Green, but he eventually found his groove and adapted as time went on. However, he once again has to adapt and change as a coach since he’s taking on multiple new responsibilities as the head coach.

 “It’s definitely more stressful and time consuming since I’m even more involved with the program then I was and I’m definitely planning even more now,” Green said. “But I’m loving this experience and hope to continue it in the coming years.” 

  It’s already stressful enough for a coach to begin their first season at a new school, but new assistant coach Laughman began his first year here at North a few weeks into the season. Laughman applied for the open position of assistant coach and was accepted towards the end of the second week of practices.

 “I’ve coached at other schools [like Wright City] before so I have experience but I’m still adapting and learning from Green’s play style, but it was especially hard to adapt at the beginning when I’m coming in towards the end of practice 10 or 11,” Laughman said. “My goal so far has been to individually connect with each of the athletes and I’m still learning stuff about each of them since I wasn’t there for the applications and cuts.”

 All of the coaches, regardless of how long they’ve been at North, have one common goal in mind and that’s to improve the program as much as they can in the short amount of practices and games they have. As the season progresses, they hope to help athletes improve their game regardless of what team they’re on. One big aspect they are focusing on is getting a better record than in previous years.