Andy Streit’s hiring as the head boys basketball coach at Meadowdale High School can, in one sense, be described as a lateral move. He just slid down the bench a seat or two.
The school announced this week that Streit, an assistant coach with the Mavericks the past five seasons, has been named head coach. He replaces Chad McGuire, who stepped down in April after nine seasons.
“We are very excited to have coach Streit step into the varsity role,” Meadowdale athletic coordinator Chris Murphy said in a press release. “He will bring energy and a passion for our school and our student-athletes.”
Streit is a former Meadowdale point guard and team captain. He graduated in 1998.
He began his coaching career a year later as a volunteer assistant with the Meadowdale freshman team. He stayed with the program until 2003, when he accepted a teaching and coaching position at Auburn Riverside High School. He returned to Meadowdale in 2006 to coach the Mavs’ junior-varsity team.
“Basketball-wise I really push defense, rebounding and fundamentals,” Streit said. “Everything starts from there — and the work ethic that goes along with that.”
He also sees himself as an instructor of more than Xs and Os.
“Part of it is trying to teach kids to control their emotions in adverse situations,” he said, “and teach them to use what they have learned in their lives.”
Mavericks fans may notice a more up-tempo pace next season, but that’s a matter of the players’ strengths more than philosophy, Streit said. In that sense, he hopes to emulate the coaches he played for and worked under at Meadowdale — Troy Parker and McGuire. “They were really good at adapting the system to the personnel,” Streit said.
Streit, who teaches 10th-grade honors English, inherits a Meadowdale program that has enjoyed its best success over the past decade. The Mavericks reached the state tournament in five of McGuire’s nine seasons as head coach and placed four times, including a school-best fifth-place finish at the 2010 Class 3A tourney. Prior to 2003, Meadowdale had not been to state since 1978.
This past season, the Mavericks posted a 12-12 record and reached the Class 3A District tournament.
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