Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
The John Carroll basketball team practices on Nov. 7.
Ronald Steele led the John Carroll Catholic High School boys basketball program to consecutive Class 6A state championships in 2003 and 2004 as a player.
Now, he will attempt to restore the Cavaliers to that status as the coach.
Steele, in his first year as the athletic director and head boys basketball coach at John Carroll, has returned home, so to speak, to take over the program he once starred with.
“It obviously brings back memories of playing, and excitement,” said Steele about a week before the season started, taking a break from dust-mopping the court. “It’s always exciting at the beginning of the season when it’s new and fresh.”
The past decade of John Carroll basketball has featured more losing than winning, and Steele knows it will take time to reverse that trend. But one thing he said he would be sure to balance is building for the future without doing so at the expense of this season’s team.
“You owe it to your seniors and your older guys to not just talk about the future,” he said. “There’s very few programs that have sustained success. … In high school, it’s normally some years you’re better, some years you’re not. You just try to make each team the best it can be.”
To start that process, Steele is hoping to establish some continuity in the program, noting the revolving door of coaches in recent years.
“The important thing is always coming in and defining what you want to do and setting expectations really high,” he said. “If you build it on that kind of foundation, kids know what to expect.”
The Cavaliers have several football players that are expected to contribute to the varsity basketball team this winter, so they got off to a later start than most teams in terms of preparation. But Steele has been pleased with how the guys have responded.
“We have really good kids that are eager to try something that may be a little different than what they’ve done before,” he said.
John Carroll’s identity on the court this season is largely to be determined until several games have been played, but there is one word Steele wants his teams to be known by: aggressive.
“Kids want to play that way and that’s what I’m comfortable with,” he said. “What you do is kind of dictated by your personnel, whether you play zone or man, that’s all kind of what your kids can do.”
The John Carroll community is understandably excited about one of their own taking over the athletics department and basketball program, and Steele’s passion for the school is evident.
“People know that I’m going to be committed to the program and I’m going to try to build on what people have done,” Steele said. “I think that’s where a lot of the excitement comes from. They know how passionate I am about being here and being an alum.
“They know it’s going to be a priority, and we’re going to work really hard and it’s something they can be proud of.”
