The girls basketball team here at Papio South has a record of 15-7 as of mid February. With a few games until districts and then state fast approaching, the girls basketball team is pulling out all the stops to keep its 15-7 season rolling.
Many of the players only recently learned that Coach Andy formerly worked as a scout for the WNBA, traveling around the Midwest for college teams and around the country observing the Connecticut Sun.
That experience seems to influence his perspective coaching the Titans, according to captain Kate Ligon, a senior.
“He’s always thinking ahead of us,” Ligon said. “… [B]ecause he’s so good at scouting, we normally know what exactly a team’s gonna do when we play them.”
One thing that Gerlecz preaches is sportsmanship. He said his No. 1 thing is to “try and help folks be a good teammate.” That translates to cheering from the bench, 3ertand even the way Gerlecz sets up plays.
Senior Kamryn Exner, who is also a team captain, said she saw the scouting mentality at work in the way Gerlecz coaches.
“It’s like trying to get everyone into the play,” Exner explained. “[Gerlecz] doesn’t necessarily just rely on one person. His plays involve everyone.”
Gerlecz knows from his scouting experience that what a player does on the sidelines is just as important as what they do on the court.
“If a college coach is watching you play, and you run off the floor and don’t maybe acknowledge your coach, acknowledge your teammates … overall that could cost you the chance of getting a walk on, getting a scholarship, having that coach want you on their team,” Gerlecz said.
As juniors and seniors on the team are thinking about college, Gerlecz’s scouting experience is a valuable asset.
“He’s always said that if he needed to talk to anyone, he would for me – and give a good report about me,” Exner said.
Gerlecz said he is still in contact with some coaches at both the college and professional levels, providing an important resource to the girls who are planning on playing at the next level.
The coach’s strategies have proved helpful to the girls this season, even when they didn’t necessarily understand his thinking at the time, Ligon said,
“He pulled us at the end of the Millard North game,” Ligon said. That matchup ended with a 46-34 loss for the Titans.
“In the moment, I was like, ‘Omigod, I want to keep playing – you know – I don’t want to lose. Then the next day, we played and beat the No. 4 team in the state,” Ligon said, referring to the team’s 49-48 win over Lincoln Northeast.
Gerlecz connects with the team, according to the captains, and he can keep a calm composure, win or loss.
