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NTL GIRLS BASKETBALL: FAUVER LOOKING TO CHANGE 'LOSING CULTURE' SURROUNDING SAYRE PROGRAM (2022-12-02)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
SAYRE — The first thing first-year coach Bob Fauver wants to do is change the losing culture that currently surrounds the Sayre girls basketball program.

The Lady Redskins were slated to open the 2022-23 campaign at home tonight at 6 p.m. against Wellsboro, but that game has been re-scheduled to Dec. 17. They are coming off an 0-17 season after not having a varsity team in 2020-21, and have not won a game since Jan. 31, 2020 — a span of 19 games.

“This program hasn’t won a game in almost three years. It hasn’t had a JV team in four years, that catches up to you after a while,” said Fauver.

“It’s hard to believe this program is where it’s at, considering it reached the District finals in 2018, and won a District title in 2016.

“Getting past the losing culture is one of the main things we’re working on,” added Fauver.

The Lady Redskins have just eight players on its roster, and won’t have a JV team.

“We have eight girls, and no JV team,” he said. “We have eight girls on the junior team, too.

“Our numbers are down, and it’s concerning,” noted Fauver. “If you really look at the totality of this team, it’s really a JV team.

“We have two seniors and one junior, so a lot of younger kids are going to have to be ready to step up,” continued Fauver. “I don’t know if they’re ready to step up, and that’s where the lack of a JV team comes in.

“Plus, they’re learning a whole new system, and a whole new coaching style,” he added. “You throw that on top, and it’s a lot to take in.”

Fauver, who racked up 309 wins, nine NTL titles, and four District 4 championships in 16 years as head coach at Athens.  He spent his first year at SRU, before the district merged with Athens. During that season, SRU’s first win snapped a 61-game NTL losing streak.

Fauver said things fell into place for him to take the Sayre job.

“I wanted to get back into coaching,” he said. “I retired from being an administrator (at Johnson City) … the job opened up, and I like teaching and coaching.

“The program has been down, and I wanted to see what I could do, to get it back on track,” he added.

Unlike his time at SRU, where the merger came out of the blue, the specter of a merger or sports co-op hangs over Sayre and its sports programs.

“We’re trying to get the program back on steady ground, but there’s the cloud of a co-op with Athens, or a merger.

“So, there are kids not going out for sports for that reason, which is disheartening because if you don’t know what’s happening, why would you waste time worrying about it,” Fauver said.

The Lady Redskins have a little experience returning in junior point guard Lizzy Shaw, and senior center Gabby Shaw, as well as junior forward Meagan Flynn, and sophomore forward Abbie McGaughey.

Freshman guard Kaitlyn Sutton is expected to see a lot of playing time, while senior Madison Smith, freshman guard Aubri Husted, and freshman forward Rylee Lantz will vie for minutes.

While conditioning is often a factor for coaches with less than 10 on the roster, Fauver says his biggest concern is a lack of playing in the full court.

“It’s not so much the conditioning, as it is not being able to go full court.

“We’ve been able to incorporate full-court drills … I think our conditioning will be fine, but with eight girls we’re not able to play and scrimmage full-court night in and night out,” said Fauver.

“We’re not really able to see what we’re doing wrong, and what needs to be adjusted; that’s the biggest challenge.

“This is reminiscent of my first year at SRU,” added Fauver. “We had nine girls, but I was 35 years younger, and I was able to scrimmage with them.”

Fauver said he had his first real look at his team was Monday when it scrimmaged Mountain View.

“We are farther behind than I thought we were,” he said. “We struggled in a couple of different areas, and that’s worrisome to me.

“Again, it comes down to not being able to practice full court and see what we need to work on,” Fauver added.

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