New head coach Todd Stephens brings plenty of experience to Greencastle Boys Basketball
When the Greencastle-Antrim boys basketball takes the court at the Franklin County Tip-Off Tournament, there will be a new face leading the charge.
Todd Stephens was hired as the new head coach of the Blue Devils, and Friday night will be the first look at what his squad will bring.
But this is far from Stephens’ first time on the court, as he comes in with plenty of playing and coaching experience.
Stephens played college basketball at York College, and then moved on to various coaching roles over the next few years.
He spent time at Frostburg State, Susquehanna University and Marymount University before moving on to Division I, where he was The Citadel’s Director of Basketball Operations.
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He knows what it takes to compete at a high level.
“Hopefully it gives them a little bit of something to work toward,” Stephens said. “That this could be possible for them and hopefully I can share my experience to let them know what it takes to play at the next level.”
After 10 years away from coaching, he took an assistant role with Clear Spring in Maryland. But after settling down in Greencastle, he saw this position open and he knew he had to apply.
He brings plenty of experience to the program, one he’s already looking to shape.
“When we talk about our program, it's definitely not just Varsity or JV,” Stephens said. “I hope to instill a whole entire program from first grade the whole way up through with some of the things that we're going to do. We're gonna know how to play basketball. We're going to learn how to play defense, we're not just going to roll the ball out, roll the dice type of thing."
"So hopefully, it's a fun style. Hopefully the guys enjoy it, but we're going to get up and down and learn how to play basketball.”
Stephens isn’t coming in and immediately coming in and instilling a college-like experience though.
He’s willing to do that, but he wants his message to be shaped with what his team thinks is best for them.
“I want it to be what they want,” Stephens said. “If they want a college experience where we're really ‘go go go!’ then I'm going to try to give that to them. But if we want something else where we're just trying to do our best to be competitive then we'll obviously do those things too.”
Greencastle has missed the postseason each of the last three years, but he wants to see his team in a real game environment and get to know his opponents before setting expectations.
“At the end of the day, we want to be the best team we can be,” Stephens said. “And if that means we win 20 games, great. If that means we win eight games, but we got better day in and day out then that's what it is.”
This article originally appeared on Chambersburg Public Opinion: Coach Todd Stephens brings experience to Greencastle Boys Basketball
