Good Morning! With the Border Country Sports Report, I’m Keith Harrington.
Brown Has Made an Impact on Granville Girls Basketball
Last night I was invited to attend the Granville girls basketball end-of-the-season banquet at Telescope’s Patio Plus Furniture showroom. Honestly, it was one of the best sports awards ceremonies I have ever attended. I will have a complete story about the banquet in next week’s print edition, but this morning I want to talk about the impact that head varsity coach Dan Brown has had on the Golden Horde program.
I first met Brown on the roof of the press box at the old Stillwater High School football field. Yes, I said the roof, not inside. Brown was filming the game for the Golden Horde. I was broadcasting the game for Lake Region Radio. Brown ended up working on the sales staff at the radio station for a while. We have been friends ever since.
When Brown was named the new Granville girls varsity coach two years ago, I sat down and interviewed him one day before practice. He had a definite plan for the Golden Horde program. Brown had been coaching, mainly at the sub-varsity level since 1979. He wanted to see what he could do at the varsity level. Brown planned to coach varsity basketball for two years and bring respect back to the program. He wanted to get kids to return to the program. And then turn the helm over to someone else. Potentially junior varsity coach and former Granville standout Jacqueline Frasier.
Mission accomplished. The Golden Horde went 9-10 this year and 9-12 in Brown’s first season.
“I’m okay with that Brown said. “In two years this varsity program won more games than they won in the previous ten years combined,” Brown said.
Granville also earned their first sectional win in several years, topping Rensselaer 39-34 last season.
In a time when other schools are struggling to even field teams at all three levels, Brown has the Golden Horde thriving. Over 50 student-athletes played for Granville at the junior high, junior varsity, and varsity levels this season. Almost unheard of in today’s environment. A common theme as players came up to receive their participation certificates was Brown, Frasier, and junior high coaches Lexi Zovistoski and Payton Barlow saying, “This girl had never played before” or “This girl returned to the program after not playing in a few years.” That speaks volumes about Brown and his staff.
At the end of the banquet, Brown made it official that as was his plan he would step down and not coach the team next season.
Assistant coach Jason Rathbun spoke about the impact that Brown had on both himself and the program. He also presented Brown with a pair of beautiful plaques to honor his career.
“This guy brought me into the program and I couldn’t have asked for a better guy to be on the sidelines with for his last season,” Rathbun said of Brown. “He’s always looked out for me. He’s always believed in me. And I couldn’t have asked for a better coach to be on the bench with.”
The crowd then gave Brown a standing ovation to conclude the evening.
As Brown hands the keys off to his successor next season, he leaves the Golden Horde in as good a place as any team in the Adirondack League. With three sophomore starters set to return next year, one of which was a league all-star (Ella Olsen) and another the team MVP (Paige Taylor), a 10-4 junior varsity team who placed second in the league tournament, and a solid group of junior high players, Granville is a team to keep an eye on in the future.
Yes, Dan Brown, your mission was indeed accomplished.
