Sclafani Takes Over East Brunswick Girls Basketball Program

Thomas Sclafani gave up his job as the coach at Highland Park in order to get a chance to see his daughter play basketball. As an added bonus, he's also guaranteed great seats.

Sclafani not only will get a chance to watch his daughter (Dayna) play games, he'll also see all of her practices. That's because Sclafani is the new coach for the East Brunswick High School girls basketball team.

"It worked out really well," Sclafani said of his new position. "The job came open. I knew a lot of the kids and they knew me. I coached a lot of them in AAU."

In addition to Highland Park, Sclafani has coached in a school in New York and also in the college ranks. Sclafani is around basketball on a daily basis as part of Coaches Choice USA, which runs camps, clinics and AAU teams.

"We deal mainly with girls basketball," Sclafani noted of Coaches Choice USA. Of course, that works out well with his new job.

Sclafani took over the team in August. He's been using that time to try and implement his style of play into the program.

"We're looking to be a very fast team, pushing the ball a lot," Sclafani said. "We're not big, but we have some athletes. We have a lot of speed."

Sclafani inherits a very young team. Kaitlin Potkulsi, a senior, is the lone returning varsity player. She is a forward and the team captain.

"She's really a good leader," Sclafani said. "She's looking to go into ROTC. She's the type of person I'd want in a fox hole with me. She's a very upbeat and positive person. When you only have one returning player, it's a big plus to have someone like her."

The other seniors on the team are Connie Fiocco (guard), Kim Koller (forward), Rachel Cordasco (guard) and Cara Saso (guard).

The juniors on the team are Nicole Reisert (point guard), Jessica Dudra (forward), Carissa Smith (guard/forward) and Hunter Fecskovics (guard).

Megan Costello (guard/forward) and Celestine Thomore (center) are both sophomores. Julia Simones (guard) and Dayna Sclafani (guard) are freshmen.

"The starting team is still up in the air," Sclafani noted about the group that will be on the court for Friday's season opener at Perth Amboy.

Other big dates on the 2011 portion of the schedule are Dec. 27 and 29, when the team will take part in the Brunswick Tournament. East Brunswick will open up against Monroe.

The biggest date in the season, according to Scalfani, will be some unknown day in 2012, probably near the middle of January.

"We only have one returning varsity player," Sclafani noted. "We're very young. It's going to take some time. We're changing the whole system. We'll start rolling on all cylinders in the middle of January."

The schedule certainly doesn't help. Sclafani thinks Edison, Piscataway and South Brunswick are all loaded with talent. East Brunswick just needs to get good enough to find a way to beat those teams.

"I tell my girls we have to be ready to beat Goliath," Sclafani said. "We have to be like David. We have to show up with a slingshot and five stones."