Great Mills Brian Weisner is Coach of Year

	Coach Cutchember
	Coach Dicus

After taking his team to the state semi-finals on March 13, and after being named Coach of the Year by the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference and the National Federation of High Schools, Coach Brian Weisner isn’t about to take any credit for the achievements of his team.

“Wining awards is nice, but it’s all about the team and their dedication, effort and discipline. To me, watching the girls develop into a team, working together for a common cause and seeing their dedicated effort is the reward,” said the Penn State graduate, math teacher and decorated coach.

Weisner graduated in 1998 from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science in secondary mathematics education and landed his first teaching job that same year at Great Mills High School. The coach indicated that he loved basketball and when he heard of a volunteer opening for a girls’ basketball coach he jumped at the chance to become the coach. “I did it for the experience and to get a little extra pay,” he said. In the second year – 1999/2000 – he was named coach and started Great Mills’ first ever girl’s basketball program from scratch.

Weisner said that the program progressed slowly the first couple of years until he was told that, while he was great at Xs and Os, he was failing to connect with the players. “In 2004, once I realized I needed to do a better job connecting with my players, the team came together,” he said.

When asked how he looked at teaching in comparison to coaching, the coach smiled and said he did not differentiate. Weisner teaches Algebra II Honors, Pre-Calculus Honors, Geometry Honors and this year is teaching ninth grade science, technology, engineering and

Coach Weisner

math STEM Academy. “It’s all about seeing the kids coming together, applying themselves to the task and being dedicated. It doesn’t matter whether its basketball or mathematics. The principals are the same.”

There is no arguing the young coach’s methodology, his team went 15-1 in the regular season and 24-2 overall. Weisner indicated that he is now involved in team evaluations and planning, but, by rule, he is not allowed to hold any team meetings until November 15. “It’s up to the kids to stay motivated and to be ready to play next year.” Under his leadership, there is every indication that the Great Mills High School team will be a force to reckon with in the coming year and beyond.