Direct Rays: Ossining Competes Like The Big Leagues, Headley Men Guide Peekskill Girls with Class, Dignity
It would be sexist of me to suggest that the Ossining High girls’ basketball team play the game like a bunch of crazed girls, so I’ll just go ahead and say they play basketball like boys; ridiculously tough, determined boys, who dive for every 50-50 ball and spend every ounce of energy within them for one common goal; The Chip.
And I would venture to guess that Coach Dan Ricci’s current Pride, winners of three-straight Section 1 Class AA championships after their 83-51 triumph of No.2 Our Lady of Lourdes last Sunday, would seriously challenge more than half the boys’ teams in Section 1 right now, and probably beat more than a handful. The state-ranked (No.1) Pride (17-4) are that good, and they’ll more than likely prove their worth all the way to Troy, NY (home of the girls state finals) in the days ahead, as they embark upon the first NYSPHSAA championship in school history.
“It’s the work that we put in,” said Ricci from the floor of the County Center where he has now hoisted four gold balls since 2004. “It’s the schedule we play, the AAU stuff we do. That’s where it all develops, the incredible depth and determination we have. We have a great program. It’s not a basketball team, it’s a program. It’s like family, it is family.”
It is a tight-knit clan, molded in the spitting image of their coach; he a fiery man who made the most of his ability as the Ossining QB back in the day. The Ossining girls have often played like boys, whether it was stoic Melissa Awerdick limping to the free throw line back in that unforgettable 2004 championship win, or UConn-bound Saniya Chong leading the Pride to an unprecedented third-straight championship last Sunday. There’s a reason they all wear black knee pads; from Chong to the last player on the bench: They get after every loose ball, contest every shot and aren’t afraid to sell out for the greater good.
“It’s the only way I know how to coach,” Ricci said of the dive-and-grind style of play he enforces. “It’s what we do every day in practice, so it is second nature come game time. We get after it every single day. Our girls try to kill each other every day in practice, so by the time we see someone else we’ve already gone against everything we can possibly see.”
You wouldn’t know it looking at the mild-mannered Chong, who, along with her Pride teammates, flips a switch come game time. On one hand, Chong is quite possibly the purest jump shooter in New York State history; as good at her craft as say Sacramento Kings G Jimmer Fredette (6th on New York’s all-time scoring list with 2,404 points) was for Glens Falls some six years ago. On the other hand, her preparation is second to none and quite contagious.
“By the time we hit the court for a game, it’s just habit to come out here and go all out,” said Chong, the state’s No.5 all-time scorer, who led the Pride with 39 points, six rebounds, 11 steals, and seven assists. “A lot of the time our opponents aren’t up for us because they haven’t been prepared the way we have. Our energy is always higher than our opponent.”
Whether you love him or hate him (I choose to love), Coach Ricci — one of the best two-sport coaches in state history –– is just as dialed in. He somehow wades through the typical B.S. that often comes with managing 15 personalities with a greater-good approach. What makes him so accomplished — besides the four sectional titles in basketball and one more in football – is the devotion he gives to his extended family. In Ossining’ he’s a “made man”; probably in Sing Sing, too. Chong would do it all over again, if given the opportunity.
“Four years with Coach Ricci has been amazing,” said Chong. “I would sign up for four more years if I could. He’s taught me so much about basketball and about life. He’s there for us on and off the court. He made me who I am. Sadly, I only get four years with him. It’s all about states now, and that means everything to me.”
The road to the state title begins this Tuesday (6:00 p.m.) against state-ranked (No.25) Section 4 champion Horseheads (16-4) at the College of New Rochelle. A win there would advance the Pride to the state quarters where No.21 Monroe-Woodbury lies in wait with a berth to the NYS Class AA Final 4 and a trip to Troy on the line. It’d be wise to book your hotel rooms now if you haven’t already done so.
“They want to win a state championship and I don’t think Saniya is going to let us lose,” Ricci said. “It would sure be nice to kick back and watch the kids enjoy that.”
Yeah, as if Ricci – Mr. All-or-Nothing — ever kicked back and did anything…
If there is one guy in Peekskill these days that I look up to, it’s that Rodney Headley Sr. cat. This “volunteer” basketball coach for the Peekskill High boys’ and girls’ basketball teams is one of the nicest men you’ll ever come across, so it sure was special to see him and his son, Lady Red Devils Head Coach Rodney Headley Jr., win their second sectional championship in three years last Sunday at the County Center; the 11th-seeded Red Devils doing so with a 55-48 Class A win over No.4 Albertus Magnus.
The Headley men bleed red, Peekskill Red & White! They are as pleasant and unassuming as they are accomplished and have been that way since I first met them at the turn of the century, when Jr. was the third option (behind Hilton Armstrong and Rashard Turner) on Peekskill’s NYS runnerup team that loss to Amityville in 2002. If, and eventually when, NYS Hall of Fame Coach Lou Panzanaro steps down as boys’ coach at Peekskill, I’d sure like to see these two guys hold firm to the keys to the kingdom…
Random County Center Thoughts:
How will Mahopac ever live with having handed New Rochelle the gold ball? If All-Section Indian Brendan Hynes doesn’t foul out on that absolutely absurd charging call
Ray has 33 years experience covering and photographing local sports in Westchester and Putnam counties, including everything from Little League/Travel Baseball to varsity high school prep sports and collegiate coverage. He has been a sports editor at Examiner Media since its inception in 2007.
Visit Ray’s author bio page for more details. Also read Ray’s archived work here and his Direct Rays column here.