Q & A with Mr.Mattson

Q: How did your first game go?

A: The first, I expected the girls would do well. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they did.

Q: How do you like coaching so far?

A: I couldn’t be happier. The girls had coached well before they got to me. They are really good basketball players. They are serious about the sport and they have fun. We’ve got 9 eight graders and 5 seventh graders. 2 of the seventh graders are starters.I don’t know much about the league and the other schools ability because this is my first year coaching girls basketball in Raleigh. I expect that we are going to have major competition. I think it will push the girls to get better.

Q: Where did you coach before here?

A:Northern Wisconsin in a small town called Fredric. A graduating class had 50 kids if they were lucky,so the team didn’t have a lot of talent to choose from. Here at Wakefield there are over a 1000 students so in the tryouts there were 30 girls trying out for the team.

Q: Was it difficult to choose the players for this year?

A: The first 10 girls that made the team easily stood out. The remaining 4 that were chosen required a lot of thought and discussion between me and our other coach Mr.Williams. It never feels good to cut anyone who wants to play. I am sure it is even harder on the girls. I hope that they keep playing and practice their skills then come again next year.

Q: Do you plan on coaching next year?

A: Yeah I do, I love basketball and the kids are wonderful.