2009 - 2010 Season in Review

The 2009 - 2010 boys basketball season came to a close in the State Tournament round of 32 this year, with our team finishing with a 19-9 record. Although our exit came earlier than expected, our year was full of success and accomplishment. We lost in the finals of The Rock Holiday Classic, we traveled and competed in one of the nation's best tournaments, we competed against extreme quality opposition, and, most importantly, had tons of fun along the way. Our players grew as men, as students, and as basketball players. We said good-bye to 10 seniors, and for the 5th straight year, we will have at least 2 players  go and take their talents to play college basketball while getting an education. We watched our underclassmen take the leadership role from them. We watched as 2 freshmen started every playoff game for us, showing us a glimpse of just how bright our future is. We had tremendous support from the families of our players, the school, our girls basketball team, and the faculty at American Heritage. We have a tremendous coaching staff that is dedicated to the young men in our program, and we really have the most awesome players in our program that return for 2010 - 2011. I say THANK YOU to all of the Patriot Hoops Supporters out there, and I cannot wait to get working on next year - where our goal will be to WIN the state title in Lakeland.

Heritage Hoops Helps Haiti

American Heritage Basketball just completed a very special evening. Not only did our JV boys, Varsity girls, and Varsity boys beat our district rival North Broward Prep, but we held a very successful fundraiser to help the people of Haiti. Heritage Hoops teamed up with Project Medishare (with the help of the Miami Heat) and we donated all proceeds from the game and concession tonight.  Through the efforts of the players, coaches, parents, and fans, we were able to raise $1092 for the people of Haiti. It was a very successful evening. My thanks go out to Coach Arlen Restler for organizing this project from start to finish for American Heritage.

Great Florida Shootout and Universal Studios / Islands of Adventure

We departed the parking lot of American Heritage on Saturday, December 26th at 8:00am and headed up to Orlando for the Great Florida Shootout. Our team attended this event last year and we found out that the tournament is terrific - well organized, tons of college coaches, great basketball teams, and good location. As the bus driver I was excited to get going early in the day, as we would be playing at 4:00pm against a great team from Georgia (Savannah High School). Luckily there were no issues with the bus and we arrived in Orlando in plenty of time to get ready to play. We came out  and played really well and defeated Savannah. As a coach I was really happy with our team - in fact all 12 players that are here with us in Orlando played, and played well. We finished up the day with a great meal and some rest as we knew the competition level was only going to get harder as we went forward.
Sunday was spent at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We had a GREAT time as we laughed together and bonded over roller-coasters and rides (and a little bit of cold weather and rain). You can see the pictures from throughout the day here.
Monday saw us play a very good Oak Ridge team. Oak Ridge features a post player headed to the University of Georgia, and a couple of really good guards, making them tough to play against. They are well coached, and they were ready to play. We found ourselves down 8-0 to start the game, and although we fought like crazy to come back, we ended up losing the game by 4.
Monday saw an upset on the other side of the bracket, as Osceola High School beat Northeast High School. This set up our 3rd game of the tournament for Tuesday, as we would play Northeast.  Northeast beat us 70 - 52 in what was probably our worst game of the year.
We will bounce back and get back to work.
Happy New Year to everybody.

American Heritage School loses in the finals of The Rock Holiday Classic

Our team just completed the pre-Christmas portion of our schedule by competing in The Rock Holiday Christmas Classic. A great week was had by our squad, finishing with 3 wins and 1 loss, which came in the finals to an undefeated Edgewater High School team from Orlando.
Playing 4 games in 5 nights is always tough, and if you couple that with a double overtime game in the semi-finals, it gets tougher. If you couple all of that with the fact that we did not have our planned starting lineup available to us for even 1 of the 4 games, it gets tougher.  We started 2 freshmen for all 4 games, and I loved what those 2 young men brought to the table every night. I hope they can sustain the success and level of play that they have had so far for the entire season.
All in all, it was a good week for our squad. We showed the ability to defend well, rebound well, beat smaller teams, beat bigger teams, shoot the ball well, attack the press well, attack the zone defense well, attack the man to man defense well, get the ball inside, score in transition, attack the other team's best player, and a myriad of other things that came about in this tournament.
My congratulations go out to not only my team for playing well, but to Edgewater for coming from behind in the championship game and earning the victory. Thanks to Scott Williams for hosting us in the tournament - you did a great job all week.
We now enjoy a quick Christmas break before heading to Orlando for the Great Florida Shootout, starting on Saturday, December 26th.
Merry Christmas to all - from the entire Heritage Hoops basketball family.

Heritage Hoops keep rolling along, Casey Wohlleb, big win vs North Broward Prep

As we begin finals week here at American Heritage I can tell you this much: I LOVE THIS TEAM so far! We are off to a terrific start, winning 7 of our first 8 games. We have been practicing with purpose and intensity, and we have been performing well in the classroom. I am confident that our semester 1 team GPA will be one of the highest that I have ever been a part of, and I am fortunate to have been a part of some great academic teams.
Last Friday night we traveled to our district rival North Broward Prep for a rivalry matchup with their team. The atmosphere was great inside their gym - our girls played their girls in the game before ours (Congratulations, Lady Patriots for a huge win), and the energy from the crowd was tremendous for the entire evening. I give Coach Williams and his staff a ton of credit for having his guys ready to play and for playing at an energy level that was outstanding - we struggled to match it on the road. Our guys played a good game (a really good second half) and pulled off the victory 70 - 55. One of the best parts of the night for me was a chance to see and speak to Casey Wohlleb. Casey is one of my all-time favorite players that I have coaches, a former Broward County player of the year, and a young man that I respect a ton. Casey is between playing stints overseas, but is serving as an assistant coach at his alma mater this season. Casey is one of the reasons I fell in love with coaching, as he made the game fun for me while serving as his coach for 4 seasons. Thank you, Red Baron, for everything you did for me and our team, and now for everything you are doing for the young men at North Broward Prep.

American Heritage School 84, Coral Reef High School 45

Another weekend, another strong opponent for our team to match-up with. Last night the American Heritage basketball team took on the defending FHSAA 6A State Champion Coral Reef High School. Coming into the game I was 100% CONFIDENT that we would play really well. How did I know this? We had an amazing week of practice, and I saw what we are capable of doing when I watched the 3rd quarter of our game on Tuesday night.

We came out strong from the opening tip, jumping on Coral Reef, and continuing with our style of play until the game ended up with a running clock in the 4th quarter. Congratulations to our players and our coaches who came out to play last night and represented our school so well. Juan Ferrales played a terrific game, Marcus Blake was awesome, Mikon Hewitt led our attack, Jake Wheeler and Tom Gabric once again fulfilled their roles, and Ryan Andino was once again the spark off the bench. Well done to our team and coaches.
We now move on to a district opponent when we travel to North Broward Prep on Friday night for a big matchup with the Eagles and Coach Williams. I'm looking forward to that game.

Good Start to the Regular Season for American Heritage Basketball

We just concluded a very busy week by playing in the HoopMountainFlorida.com Hoop Feast, which was played in Orlando, Florida at West Orange High School.  I always maintain that in order to improve and be ready for the tough games at the end of the season that are played in the playoffs, a team MUST challenge themselves by playing a grueling schedule during the regular season. This past weekend saw American Heritage play the defending 1A State Champions Orlando Christian Prep, and a very good West Orange High School team. This came on the heels of our Turkey Day Home game where we played Hollywood Christian in a tough battle on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
Our team spent Thursday with their families, so on Friday morning we convened at the Heritage cafeteria/gym for our morning walk-through and scouting session. Things went well, we got up some shots, and then we boarded the bus for the trip to Orlando. We were able to stop for a good lunch along the way, checked into the hotel, and then headed to the game site. We were scheduled to play at 8:15pm - but because of the three early games running a little late, we started the game after 9:30pm. The West Orange game was fantastic - a lot of good things for us and for them, and before we knew it we were in for a long, tough battle with the Warriors. Marcus Blake led our team with 30 points and 10 rebounds, and Ryan Andino chipped in 16 points to lead our team to a double overtime victory that concluded after midnight. Mikon Hewitt hit a 3-pointer as time expired in regulation to send the game to overtime. Our team missed senior co-captain Jake Wheeler, who was representing American Heritage on the football field on this night. Jake Silver, another senior, iced the game in double OT by hitting 2 free throws that pushed the lead to four points with six seconds to play. Congratulations to the Patriots for fighting hard against a big, good team and coming away with the victory. Game 2 on Saturday night proved to be a tough obstacle for the Heritage squad, shooting 21% for the game and showing the effects of 3 games in 4 days and could never get over an early deficit, dropping a 58-32 contest to OCP. Overall it was a good weekend for Heritage Hoops, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this fun team to coach. Thanks to the HoopMountain Florida folks for putting on a great event (Eric Wallace, Scott Golden), and, as always thanks to my coaches and team for their time and commitment to the program.

GoodBasketball.com Tip Off Classic: American Heritage beats Cypress Bay and Cooper City

The 4th annual GoodBasketball.com Tip-Off Classic concluded last night as we witnessed four good basketball compete over the span of 2 nights here at American Heritage School. The four teams involved with the tournament were Cooper City High School, Cypress Bay High School, Pope John Paul High School, and the host school American Heritage.

Night one saw Pope John Paul take on Cooper City in the first game, followed by American Heritage playing against Cypress Bay. Night one gave all the players and coaches an opportunity to play through some nerves and jitters, and showcase their improved game.

As far as results go, Cooper City defeated Pope John Paul, and American Heritage defeated Cypress Bay on night one.

Night two was a good night of basketball, and the results were as follows: Cypress Bay defeated Pope John Paul, and then American Heritage defeated Cooper City.

My thanks go out to the 3 coaches involved with the event: John Franklin at Pope, Julius Sandii at Cooper City, and Jason Looky at Cypress Bay. These coaches conduct themselves well, have teams that play hard, and programs that will do well.

I really like my team for the 09-10 season. The team has practiced hard, and come to work every day to get better. My coaching staff has done a terrific job of making our players better, and getting them prepared to win games.

My thanks to everyone involved with the 4th annual GoodBasketball.com tipoff classic.

Patriot Madness 2009 - American Heritage School Basketball

Patriot Madness 2009 was an UNBELIEVABLE success! What an evening we just experienced here at American Heritage School in our gym. Our football team got things off to a great start by winning their district championship game against Cardinal Gibbons by a score of 36-27. That game featured one of the basketball captains (Jake Wheeler) catching 2 touchdown passes and another basketball player (Andrew Flory) leading the team with 4 receptions. Immediately following the game, the American Heritage Band led the crowd down to the gymnasium with the drum line showing the way and coming right into a sold out Patriot Madness and getting things started the right way.
From the National Anthem to the final slam dunk of the evening, we were treated to an entertaining night of fun, laughter, excitement and, in typical Patriot Madness tradition, dancing. The American Heritage Lady Patriot girls basketball team was fantastic and made the evening so much fun - not only for the fans, but also for the boys basketball team. My thanks go out to the coaches and players on the Lady Patriots (visit their site once n a while - www.LadyPatriotHoops.net).
The varsity boys basketball team once again did a great job of enjoying the night and having fun while putting on a good performance. I really enjoyed watching my guys smile, laugh, and have a good time with each other and the crowd. From the 3 point contest (won by Juan Ferrales and Ryan Andino), to the slam dunk contest (won by Juan Ferrales), to a huge ovation for Jake Wheeler, and the impromptu rap session, we had a ton of surprises and shocking developments.
Thanks to all of the seniors on my team, the captains, and of course, my TERRIFIC coaching staff who, like always, helps put things together and makes this program run.
Patriot Madness is unique to American Heritage School - and we are very proud of this terrific program. TO SEE ALL THE PICTURES FROM PATRIOT MADNESS 2009, CLICK HERE!

Day 1 of the 2009 - 2010 Basketball Season at American Heritage School

The 2009 - 2010 season got off to a GREAT start at 6am on November 2, 2009. Our first practice was held bright and early before school, and we had a terrific turnout of young men that are interested in representing their school by playing basketball. Here at Heritage we have a 7th grade team, a 8th grade team, a 9th grade team, a JV team, and a varsity team. So, depending on your age, their is a place for you to be on one of our teams. I explained to all 94 young men that showed up yesterday that we value good players, but not as much as we value good character, good students, and students that represent our program well around our school with their behavior and promptness to class.
The level of play on all 5 teams was very good, and I am very excited about what the upcoming season will bring for all of us.

The Meaning of Success

As I sit once again in an airport (This time in Durham, NC), I want to share with you a quote that I found with regards to the meaning of success. All too often we equate materialistic items with success, and sometimes we all lose focus on what exactly success is.

This quote may give the REAL meaning of success:

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success."

Penn / Rocky / Goodbye

We woke up for the final day of the summer tour nice and early and completed our packing. We proceeded to meet up with the University of Pennsylvania Basketball coaching staff on the campus of Penn. We were treated so nicely by Coach Murphy and Coach Gallagher, who took us on an expansive tour of the beautiful Ivy League campus. We were impressed by the history and the beauty, and the history of the basketball program is second to none. We loved the Palestra, and it was good to see Jerome Allen working his camp on the floor of the famed building. We said our good bye's to the coaches and headed for the Student Union, where we had lunch with the other Penn Quaker students. Our guys enjoyed the choices and the food. We then headed out to the Museum of Art where we visited the stairs that the movie "Rocky" made so famous. We took pictures and ran the stairs, and of course shared a good deal of laughs. We returned to the hotel for the final time to pick up our bags and head to the airport. As I write this we are sitting at the terminal waiting to get on our plane to head back to Fort Lauderdale. It will be a sad good bye for me, as I have really enjoyed the past 2 weeks with these 7 players and Coach Arlen. I will post again tomorrow with a wrap up.