After two years as an assistant, Mike Sheehan took over the reins of the High School South boys’ basketball team after head coach Bob Schurtz stepped down to spend more time with his wife and infant daughter. And he put the guys to work right away, meeting almost immediately after the Board of Education approved the move.
“We got to go to some camps and play in a summer league,” he said. “We did constant workouts over the summer. We had some seniors coming up from JV who really spent a lot of time getting acclimated to the next level in the summertime.”
Sheehan, who currently lives in Ewing, graduated in 2005 from Lawrence High School, where he later volunteered as an assistant coach for two years. His father, Bob, is Plainsboro’s township administrator, and his mother, Donna, is an art teacher in Hamilton. He also has a sister, Abby, who works at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Sheehan is a 2009 Rutgers graduate and currently teaches at Wicoff Elementary School.
He said the transition from assistant coach to head coach was an easy one, due in part to Schurtz’s tutelage over the last two years. Already knowing several of the players didn’t hurt, either.
“I already had a relationship with pretty much all of them,” Sheehan said. “It was fun to get that part of the transition out of the way early.”
It was fun for the boys, too.
“Any time you have a change in coaching, it takes some time to adjust,” Sheehan said. “It’s definitely good to get it out of the way as quickly as possible. We got to know each other a little better, especially the ones that hadn’t played directly for me before. They all have an understanding of what kind of coach I am.”
His philosophy involves continuing to build on an already established foundation of a program that was consistently solid during Schurtz’s nine-year tenure that included a 143-84 career record and a Central Jersey Group IV title in 2009.
Sheehan said he borrows a lot from Schurtz’s coaching, mainly keeping practices and games energetic. If they want the kids to be enthusiastic, Sheehan said, they need to show the same eagerness on the court. He aims to keep the kids engaged and entertained during practices, while still developing their skills.
“He also taught me a lot about managing a program,” he said. “There are so many things that come with being a head coach that you don’t think about, and he helped show me a lot of those things. I felt very prepared to take over the program when I was offered the position because of his guidance.”
Now practices are underway, and Sheehan said his team is exerting the perfect amount of effort.
Three players in particular, he added, are leading the way in that regard. Seniors Danny Borup and Tommy Hussong, who leads the Colonial Valley Conference in three-pointers over two seasons, and sophomore Jonathan Kline are “doing a nice job of being positive role models.” Kline, Sheehan added, accepted the role, even though younger players sometimes have trouble leading upperclassmen.
“It’s hard to step into a leadership role when you’re younger, but he’s made a real effort to be more vocal,” Sheehan said.
South’s season starts Friday, December 19, at Hopewell, and Sheehan has been counting down since the summer.
“I just want them to keep getting better,” he said. “I’m very much as excited as the kids are.”
