By Eddie Levin
When Keith Heinerichs took over the Haverford High School boys’ basketball program four years ago he stressed the importance of relationship building.
“I think its faith in each other,’ Heinerichs said following his team’s game against visiting Academy Park on December 30. “We (as coaches-John Roe and I) have faith in them and they have faith in us. We are a group. We are a team. I am a part of their team just as much as they are part of my team. You can’t do anything in life without the relationships you build with people. We built a great relationship and there is a mutual respect where we care about each other and we all want the same common goal.’
To date that process has served Heinerichs and the team very well with Haverford experiencing its fare share of success that culminated with a hard fought defeat against York in the opening round of PIAA Class AAAA state playoffs last season.
“The relationships we have are really important to our success,’ said senior co-captain Sean McClatchy. “We say things to each other on the court but since we are so close we don’t take anything personally because we know it helps us get better.’
During one of his early meetings with the team he talked about how important trust and building relationships are in life. Although they are just words, they are ones that resonated with everyone involved thus making the transition easier for Haverford to have success.