BY SCOTT
HADDOW
Shawn Swords has high expectations for the Laurentian
University men's basketball team and doesn't want posers.
Despite a tough first season as head coach, which resulted in a
4-17 record, Swords still has the same high expectations for
his second campaign. Early on in the off season, Swords
aggressively pursued and signed four local basketball prospects
- Andrew Lalonde, Mitch Mallette, George Serresse and Ian
Morse. The signings represent a bucking of a trend which saw
few local players recruited to the team by past regimes over
the years.
Swords has full confidence the local players will come in and
make an immediate impact on the Voyageurs and help turn them
into contenders. Swords is definitely injecting a strong local
flavour into the squad, but he still wants to win. Swords makes
no bones about the fact the players competing for Laurentian
must give every last ounce of their heart and soul into the
team. He's out to build a winner and wants local talent to be a
big part of the process.
Recently, Swords took some time to talk with Northern Life
reporter Scott Haddow about the local recruits, his first year
and his hopes for his second season.
SH: What can you say about recent recruiting of high
profile local players Andrew Lalonde, Mitch Mallette and George
Serresse?
SS: In the three guys you named, they have CIS-calibre skills
and they're good guys. I like to surround the program with good
people and good basketball players.
SH: What do these guys bring to the program?
SS: Mitch has already played two years at Cambrian College.
He'll come in and be a veteran presence on the court. He's
older and has been through the trenches in college and he's
experienced. He'll step in and help right away. I've talked to
some CIS coaches and they're a little nervous we signed Mitch.
Andrew does a good job of sharing the ball with his teammates
and George is a huge presence inside and on the outside.
(George) is really strong...and definitely has the physical
skills.
SH: In recent years, there hasn't been as many local
players on the team. Right away you've changed it in one swift
swoop. Why is this and has the talent level risen in
Sudbury?
SS: I haven't been here the past 10 years...I've been
in-and-out in the summers and seen some of the players go
through and I'm not sure if they were given an opportunity at
Laurentian or not. There's a lot of guys coming out this year.
Actually, Ian Morse, who plays for Lockerby is coming to
Laurentian also. Maybe...the talent level is higher. I'm hoping
in the future there's at least two guys from Sudbury on the
team if not more.
SH: Why is it important to have a strong local
flavour?
SS: For the community. For Sudbury itself to be proud of
Laurentian University and what our basketball team is going to
accomplish. It's nice to have local players. Young kids in
elementary and high school...they'll know if they play hard and
compete they'll have a chance to play at the university level
right here in town. They don't have to try and go somewhere
else.
SH: At the same time, are you trying to show locals the
OUA is a viable option for them?
SS: Of course...that's number one. It's okay to stay here and
play for Laurentian and stay in Ontario. Basketball wise, it's
the best conference (East) in the country right now. It's a
great opportunity for them.
SH: You've been back in Sudbury for a year now. What
have you noticed about the local boys' basketball scene overall
in town?
SS:The good thing is the guys I've recruited are very talented.
They work hard and are eager to learn. The most important
thing...is dedication. I don't think from top to bottom, in
high school, there's dedication from all the players to get
better at basketball and improve their skills. For the talented
ones, they really have to get out and work on their game. That
means spending hours on their own...shooting, dribbling,
working on defence without anyone forcing them. There's a lot
of other players in other cities doing that on their own. I
would like to see more youngsters here in the city doing
that.
SH: Anything blow your mind in your first year as a
head coach?
SS: Nothing was really too eye-popping. I expected a lot from
the players and myself. We weren't successful ultimately as we
wanted to be, but I think we came a long way from the start of
the season to the end of the year.
SH: Did you learn anything new about yourself?
SS: I did. I'm not sure if it's good or bad (laughs). No, I
definitely noticed, as a teammate, I was very hard on my
teammates and unaccepting of mistakes. But as a coach, I'm a
lot more accepting (of mistakes) and I know guys can make
mistakes. It happens more often than you would like, but you
have to forget about them quickly...and move on. As a teammate,
I didn't accept that.
SH: Overall, what do you hope to establish in the
program?
SS: Hard work. I want us to be one of the hardest working teams
in the CIS. If that translates into a lot of wins, then great.
I want to be known as a team...that really gives their all
every night no matter who they're playing against. I think
that's important. The biggest compliment I got from some
coaches was we did work hard.
SH: You were a top player in the OUA in your day and a
professional player in Europe. What have been the challenges of
going from player to coach?
SS: First of all was realizing school is the most important
part. It's Laurentian University, not Laurentian University
Voyageurs professional basketball team. That's the biggest
shock really. As a coach, the number one thing for me is to get
these guys graduated from school.
SH: You played 10 years professionally in Europe, have
you been able to utilize the experience back here in the OUA as
a coach?
SS: Definitely. I think I shocked a lot of coaches with my
style of coaching. I wasn't yelling as much as they were and
our style wasn't quite as up-tempo as they're used to
seeing.
SH: What are your hopes for Year two and are you done
tweaking this team?
SS:No not at all. The summer doesn't mean vacation. It did as a
player. As a coach, that's when we start to get better...in the
off-season. We learned from our mistakes and hopefully, we can
squeeze out more wins and we're in more games. When the games
were close, we did well. We let a lot of games get out-of-hand
too early and that was our biggest downfall. Hopefully, we can
make the playoffs...anything can happen from there.
SH: What kind of expectations and demands do you put on
yourself?
SS: It's always in my head. My wife noticed it. She said, as a
player, off the court I didn't really think about it too much.
Now, I am a coach, she sees I'm always thinking about
basketball and I'm lost in my thoughts for what's next. I put a
lot of expectations on myself and demands on how I want the
program to be and what I want from my players. It's definitely
not a 9 to 5 job. It's a 24-hour job, but that's the way I like
it. I'm happy with it.
