Image via www.douglascollegeroyals.ca
Royals get a new men’s basketball coach
By Davie Wong, Sports Editor
The world of sports is constantly shifting. With the hiring of new coach Joe Enevoldson, this is especially true for the men’s basketball program this year. Enevoldson is a name that may not be familiar to those who follow the PACWEST, but it is certainly familiar to those who follow CIS basketball. He comes to Douglas with more than 15 years of CIS and CCAA experience under his belt, including six years of constant success with the Mount Royal University women’s basketball team.
The new coach was “humbled and honoured” to have been selected to be the head coach of the Royals. He also said he was “obviously excited to be with the team and looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead.” But what is a veteran CIS coach doing in a CCAA league?
“At this stage in my career, I wanted to go to a place that felt like there was support from an institutional standpoint as well as an athletic department standpoint. I also wanted to go to a place where I feel a program can be very successful and that is Douglas,” commented Enevoldson. His passion to see the Royals team succeed is infectious, and the season hasn’t even started yet.
“The PACWEST is a league that you can be very successful in, and Douglas is an institution that has the opportunity to be very successful.” However, Enevoldson also said that the CIS was a very different beast, and that it’s hard to compare the two leagues. Despite this, he remained adamant that his experiences in the CIS could still be directly translated to coaching at Douglas. “You take some of the CIS experiences I’ve had coaching borderline national team guys. The training remains the same, and the objective remains the same.”
It’s been a couple weeks now since Joe was hired as head coach, and the season is a while away, but he’s already working hard to make the transition between coaches smooth for the players. “I think that whenever there is a coaching change, there’s a sense of rejuvenation within the program. I think these athletes understand that and respect that. Moving forward, it’s going to be a different culture. I feel that I bring the coaching experience. I bring a different style. It’s not better than the old style, and it’s not worse. These athletes, working with them in the past month, have really bought into it, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.” The team just recently held an ID camp which gave Enevoldson the chance to put the remaining team to work as well as to scout the local talent.
Last year, the team played a pressure offence that was great when it worked, but was inconsistent. This year, is going to be much different. “I’m much more conservative. I like to grind it out with teams. We’re going to be more fundamentally sound. We might not put as many points up on the board but our games are going to be a little bit closer. We’re going to be much more defensively minded. We’re going to be a very disciplined, very physical basketball team. That’s the style of play that we’re really going to focus on and hone in on. I am big believer about playing the game inside out, rather than outside in. So we’re going to attack our mismatches across the board.”
However the team plays, it will be exciting to watch them regardless. Royals’ fans should be looking forward to the basketball season ahead.
