Jack Sarfaty has had plenty of time to get settled into his job as head girls basketball coach at North Forsyth, having been hired in March to replace Derrick Hershey.
With a full offseason to work with the Lady Raiders in conditioning and workouts behind him, he's ready to see what they can do on the court.
"I think that the girls and I have gotten along really well so far this season," Sarfaty said.
"I've tried to be consistent in order to help them understand a little more what I'm all about and what we are going to be about as a program."
With only one senior on board, it's fair to say the Lady Raiders are young. However, that doesn't necessarily mean they're inexperienced. Sarfaty credits Hershey for giving young players plenty of time in Region 7-AAAAA games last year.
"He had them really competing in most of their region games against some of the better teams in the state. This year, the girls know what they're getting into, and I don't think just competing will be good enough for them, and it certainly won't be good enough for me."
Juniors Callan Bennett (guard) and Sydney Seitz (forward) — All-County selections a year ago — will be leaders on and off the court, Sarfaty said.
Also likely to start are junior guards Jenna Gravitt and Courtney Mills.
Sarfaty credits Gravitt for her floor vision, and says the team's success will depend largely on her ability to manage the game at the point and dictate tempo on defense.
The coach describes Mills as a very good shooter, while crediting her leadership abilities in the locker room and during practice.
And Sarfaty isn't the only newcomer in Coal Mountain this year, with some fresh faces on the roster he hopes can make an impact.
"Some of the new faces are Victoria Zeman, a sophomore that will provide some relief in the backcourt, and Keeley Chester and Hunter Pugh, both freshmen who are versatile enough to play inside or outside," Sarfaty said.
Depth will be one concern for the Lady Raiders, the coach said.
"We've had a wing and two posts drop basketball because of other interests, and we've lost another guard to a knee injury. So we're not as deep as I'd like to be, but we've got a nice blend of talent at all the positions."
Sarfaty says he's been stressing the tie between conditioning and playing four quarters of defense, with the goal of holding opposing teams in the low 40's.
"If we can do that, we're going to win a bunch. If we're giving up 50 and 60 [points], that's going to really make life rough on us," Sarfaty said.
With a full offseason to work with the Lady Raiders in conditioning and workouts behind him, he's ready to see what they can do on the court.
"I think that the girls and I have gotten along really well so far this season," Sarfaty said.
"I've tried to be consistent in order to help them understand a little more what I'm all about and what we are going to be about as a program."
With only one senior on board, it's fair to say the Lady Raiders are young. However, that doesn't necessarily mean they're inexperienced. Sarfaty credits Hershey for giving young players plenty of time in Region 7-AAAAA games last year.
"He had them really competing in most of their region games against some of the better teams in the state. This year, the girls know what they're getting into, and I don't think just competing will be good enough for them, and it certainly won't be good enough for me."
Juniors Callan Bennett (guard) and Sydney Seitz (forward) — All-County selections a year ago — will be leaders on and off the court, Sarfaty said.
Also likely to start are junior guards Jenna Gravitt and Courtney Mills.
Sarfaty credits Gravitt for her floor vision, and says the team's success will depend largely on her ability to manage the game at the point and dictate tempo on defense.
The coach describes Mills as a very good shooter, while crediting her leadership abilities in the locker room and during practice.
And Sarfaty isn't the only newcomer in Coal Mountain this year, with some fresh faces on the roster he hopes can make an impact.
"Some of the new faces are Victoria Zeman, a sophomore that will provide some relief in the backcourt, and Keeley Chester and Hunter Pugh, both freshmen who are versatile enough to play inside or outside," Sarfaty said.
Depth will be one concern for the Lady Raiders, the coach said.
"We've had a wing and two posts drop basketball because of other interests, and we've lost another guard to a knee injury. So we're not as deep as I'd like to be, but we've got a nice blend of talent at all the positions."
Sarfaty says he's been stressing the tie between conditioning and playing four quarters of defense, with the goal of holding opposing teams in the low 40's.
"If we can do that, we're going to win a bunch. If we're giving up 50 and 60 [points], that's going to really make life rough on us," Sarfaty said.