Dale Florio was a little taller than most of his other nine-year-old classmates when he began playing basketball in fourth grade for the CYO league in Somerville. Even though they eventually caught up to his height, “the bug had already bitten me,” and his love for basketball was born.##M:[more]##
The now 6-foot-tall new head coach of the boys’ basketball team at High School North went from player to businessman, but was drawn back to basketball when he began coaching his sons. He now embarks on his first-ever gig at the helm of a boys’ varsity basketball team. And he’s not taking the job lightly.
The season began for the Knights at 8 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving, with double practice sessions both Friday and Saturday.
But his first official encounter with the team as coach came a few days earlier when he held a team meeting to stress one of his coaching philosophies: communication between the coaching staff and players.
“I’m a new head coach — I’m new to them, they’re new to me,” he said. “We have to quickly come together as a team and depend on each other, and we can put the best we can out on the floor.”
“We just have to gel as quickly as possible,” he adds.
Also involved in that effort is his promise to be as open and as accessible as possible. Florio hopes to “borrow the best of the previous coaches,” and add to it using what he’s gained from his previous experience.
That experience extends as far back as his younger days as a player. After grammar school, Florio went on to play for Immaculata High School in Somerville. Born in Philadelphia, he moved with his family to the town, where he lived through college. His father worked for RCA in Bridgewater, and his mother was a homemaker.
After a successful career at Immaculata, Florio left home for Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa. While there, he primarily focused on finding academic success. “Right out of college, I coached a year at Immaculata High School,” he said. “After that, I versed myself in the business world until my sons were old enough to begin playing basketball.”
Florio, in the meantime, went on to be one of the state’s biggest lobbyists. He is founder of the Princeton Public Affairs Group in Trenton, where he currently works. He also has a degree from Seton Hall Law School.
Part of his success, he says, is a result of playing basketball as a kid. “It instilled in me the concepts of working with a team, and the whole idea of competition,” he said. “I think that’s helped me be competitive in the business world.”
Florio, who now lives in Montgomery with his wife, two sons, and a daughter — she’s a gymnast — became active in coaching with the Montgomery Basketball Association, when his sons were old enough to play. He has been an AAU coach for the last five or six years for the Central Jersey Cougars, where he says he’s participated in some of the most competitive match-ups. “I was able to carry on through my two sons,” he says.
He has also spent the last five years as assistant varsity coach at Princeton High School. It was there where he was first introduced to the Knights — as an opponent.
“The team always seemed to be very well-disciplined, well-coached, and just gave 100 percent,” he recalls. “I can tell you as a coach it doesn’t matter what the talent level is, if you have kids that give 100 percent, you’re going to win your fair share of games, and you’re going to have fun doing so.”
Florio always had ambitions of becoming a head coach, and when former North coach Mike Jackson, who served for just one year, left to spend time with his family, and the job opened up at North, it was easy for him to consider the job.
Heading into the season, Florio is focusing on two things: working together as a team and strong defense. “We win as a team, we lose as a team,” he said. While he said he’s sure that’s the way it already is for the North boys’ squad, “unusual things can happen when you really have kids pulling for each other.”
And along with that comes playing “hard-nosed defense.”
“A good offense starts with a solid defense, and we’re going to be very aggressive on defense,” he said. “If we can get the ball off the backboard, we’re going to run as much as we can.”
He points to one of his philosophies — “if you can shut the other team out, all you have to do is score two points.” Not to mention, good defense can make up for a bad shooting night.
“Our offense is going to spring from a very stingy defense,” he promises.
The team returns four varsity letter winners this year — Evan Mitos, Garvin Brown, Darren Allen, and Ryan Egan — and hopes to improve on last year’s record of 7-14.
The team opens the season on Friday, December 14, against Allentown. “I expect them to play aggressively,” he said. “If we do all those things, we should win.”
