By: Rafal Matuszczak
On Nov. 11 the Saint Leo Women’s Basketball team plays its first game of the season. In the schedule announced during the second week of October, coaches included 26 games of the regular season. For the team, it will also be the first academic year under the supervision of an entirely new coaching staff.
The Lions will begin their campaign on Friday, Nov. 11 in Lakeland by playing against Lee University during the Sunshine State/Gulf Coast Conference Challenge. Nonetheless, the women will continue on Nov. 12 to complete their second game of the challenge that will be held at Saint Leo University. The Lions will play against Shorter University.
The first game against a Sunshine State Conference member will take place in Lakeland on Nov. 16. The women open their SSC season by playing with Florida Southern College in their facility.
For the Lions’ fans, the upcoming games might be exciting as the women have prepared for the 2016-2017 campaign being led by an entirely new coaching staff. On May 4, Anthony Crocitto was named the new Saint Leo Basketball Head Coach. Crocitto, who came to Saint Leo from the New York Institute of Technology, and who has nearly 20 years of coaching experience in all three divisions of NCAA, has completed the rest of the staff since then.
“We have a great group of women here at Saint Leo. We have good people, and committed hard workers. I’m impressed with their focus to get better daily,” said Crocitto.
“Changing jobs is always an issue in life for everyone. I have dealt with many challenges and learning curves, but we have some great people working here in many departments. This, in itself, makes it tough to fail,” added the Head Coach when asked about his transition from NYIT to Saint Leo.
Crocitto indicates that both the women at NYIT and Saint Leo have many features in common. Such facts might be potentially helpful while coaching the Lions. “I appreciate both groups of ladies all the same. They both want to play fast, exciting and fun. They both have high morals and character and appreciate being a part of the program. I’m truly blessed to have coached at NYIT and overjoyed to be here at Saint Leo,” said Crocitto.
Even though the Lions’ fans might get the most excited about the championship part of the season, in fact, all of the games matter. “They are all important as the next. It is a long season, very long and we will strive to peak at the right time,” said Crocitto about the importance of the games during the season. “We open up with three very tough regional games and we will see where we are at right away. We are working hard and must learn to deal with adversity in a positive manor. We can never be too high or too low,” added the Coach.
One of the concerns that the fans might have is how the team will respond to all the changes that it has experienced in regards to the coaching staff. Even though a new coach might very often be a good change, some players do not always adapt so well to new coaching techniques. Nevertheless, the Lions’ head coach indicates that such change is not going to be a problem with this team. “I firmly
