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BEDFORD, N.Y. Fox Lanes boys basketball team made it to the County Center for the first time since 2004 this past season. Head Coach Chris Violante led a senior-laden squad through the playoffs in a highly successful season.
The Foxes will look much different next season, but Violante has an entire off-season before the Foxes take the court again.
I like to think were reloaded, Violante said. I dont think were rebuilding.
Fox Lane started five seniors in all 22 games last season for the first time in Violantes eight-year head coaching career at the school. Star big men Will Trawick and Dylan Peretz will no longer be with the team, but the Foxes had several juniors and sophomores who came off the bench and contributed significant minutes. Those same players will now transition to starting roles.
Several players from the junior varsity team, which only lost two games last season, will also chip in next season.
But Violante knows that the Foxes had something special last season, particularly because the school is in Class AA and must face Mount Vernon, New Rochelle and other powerhouses.
When it comes to us, you really need to have consistency or have a special class like we had, Violante said. It was a great run as a coach. It was an unbelievable season and a great ride for me. If I could get a season like that every year, Id coach till I was 70.
The coach generally takes a hands-off approach to the off-season. He does not run an AAU league or coach a team, nor does he recommend any to a player unless a parent asks him directly. He encourages his players to lift weights and stay in shape during the summer but does not institute a mandatory training program as some of the players have their own trainers. As with the AAU, Violante will help out with weights if a player asks.
Violante does run an open gym during the spring months once or twice a week after school and all students are able to attend. The coach said he is usually able to run about a dozen sessions because he has to wait until all spring sports move outside, and even then, if it rains, he loses the gym.
Fox Lane will head to the West Point and Sacred Heart summer camps this off-season and will play in a summer league. But aside from that, Violante likes to give his players some freedom.
I feel like we get a good amount (of work) in, but at the same time I want to distance myself a little, Violante said. I dont want them to hear my voice 12 months out of the year because theyll start to drown it out if theres too much of me I think its good for the program when the kids do other stuff.
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