Scott Brown’s new challenge

Scott Brown spent years battling the likes of Martha Coakley, Elizabeth Warren and Jeanne Shaheen in the political world.

Now Brown gets a chance to go up against John McNamara and Bob Romeo.

The former Massachusetts U.S. Senator was named the girls varsity basketball coach at Amesbury High School. He replaces Gregg Dollas, who resigned in April after leading the Indians to the Div. 4 state title.

“I’m excited, I can’t wait to get started,” said Brown. “I know there are some big shoes to fill here as they are coming off a state championship season, and had some incredible players on that team who have gone to play either softball or basketball in college. It’s going to be a challenge but I am looking forward to it.”

Amesbury’s girls basketball program is used to success at the highest level. So when the job opened up last April, athletic director Glen Gearin wanted to make sure they got someone who would be fully invested in the program.

“Scott was passionate about wanting to coach and he had a great interview,” Gearin said. “He’s excited about the opportunity and we’re excited about having someone like that who wants to be here. We’re looking forward to having Scott come in and working with him.”

Basketball has been near and dear to Brown’s heart since his early days in Wakefield. He’s openly talked about his tough childhood and said basketball essentially saved his life.

“I was a victim of sexual abuse when I was younger and basketball gave me a chance,” said Brown, who detailed the abuse in his book “Against All Odds.”

“I was one of the lucky ones in that I had great mentors in Wakefield like Sonny Lane and Brad Simpson. They were amazing coaches and teachers and what they gave me is something I’ve tried to give back through my love of basketball.”

A standout basketball player at Wakefield and later at Tufts, Simpson fondly remembers Brown as someone who never lacked for confidence and was highly motivated to become the best possible player he could be.

“We struck up a good friendship when Scott was in the eighth grade,” said Simpson, who spent 51 years coaching at different levels in Wakefield before retiring last year. “Scott was a little bit of a lost soul at the time and my wife (Judy) took a liking to him. He’d always come over to the house on his bike and later his motorcycle for dinner. From there, we always had a good relationship, he came to my wedding and we went to his wedding.

“The one thing we knew was that he had a love for the game and was highly motivated to get better all the time. I used to see him dribbling around the lake all the time and he would only use his left hand. So one day I told him to start using his other hand. The next time I saw him, he was dribbling with that right hand.”

Brown’s passion for basketball eventually carried over into his family life. His daughter Ayla Brown was one of the top girls basketball players in state history. A two-time Gatorade Player of the Year, Brown scored 2,358 points, which was sixth best in state history at the time of her graduation.

“She was me on steroids,” Brown said with a laugh. “I just tried to teach her everything that Sonny and Brad taught me. I knew she was going to be good when she was beating me at age 13 and eventually committed to play at Boston College.

“Ayla encouraged me to take the Amesbury job. She said she will come around when she can (an accomplished singer who appeared on American Idol, Brown hosts a morning country music radio show on 102.5 FM) along with her close friend from AAU days, Shae Fitzpatrick (a former hoop star at Lynnfield and Brown).”

Brown spent the past three years coaching junior high school basketball in Rye, New Hampshire. He took a struggling program from a winless season to an undefeated one in three seasons. Brown makes no predictions about wins and losses, but vows teams will know when they face Amesbury.

“I know this is a great program with a great history and it’s one in transition.” Brown said. “My job is to be there and work with the girls and help them deal with the inner pressures just like I was there for Ayla,” Brown said. “It’s going to be a challenge, but I couldn’t be more excited. We are going to be a team that’s going to be tough as nails on defense and turn good defense into offense. We are going to be hard nosed and fundamentally sound.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/S3iao9s