COURTESY PHOTO
Stevie Patrick has been named the new head coach of the Lynn Tech boys basketball team.
By STEVE KRAUSE
LYNN — Stevie Patrick played basketball for Lynn Tech and has served as an assistant and a JV coach. Now, he’s reached the top rung of the coaching ladder with his appointment as varsity boys basketball coach for the Tigers.
Athletic director Joe Skeadas made the announcement Thursday. Patrick will replace David Leary, who stepped down at the end of this past season.
Patrick coached the JVs for two years before his appointment. Prior to that he spent time in Everett, where he worked in an after-school program and started an AAU basketball program as well.
Patrick played at Tech for two years under Jim Ridley, who is now the principal at St. Mary’s. Present Tiger AD Skeadas was the assistant coach on that team.
After that, he finished his high school career at Tabor Academy in Marion, and then attended both Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth.
“It was a good move for me at the time,” said Patrick. “It was good educationally. I learned a lot and saw a lot. Now, I want to bring some of that back to the kids I coach at Tech.”
Wherever Patrick went, both in high school and college, his teams won. As a sophomore at Tech, the Tigers were 16-5 and made the state tournament. His Tabor teams won titles, and at UMass Dartmouth his Corsairs won the national Division 3 championship.
Being around winning as much as he was, Patrick has developed a firm philosophy about it.
“I want us to play together,” he said. “I want our teams to be humble and respectful on and off the court. I treat my teams as if they’re family. It might not always be fun, and it’s not always going to be easy, but as long as the guys are there for each other it’ll make for a successful team.”
As for a style of play, “I like a fast-paced game,” he said. “And I put an emphasis on defense. Offense might win you games, but defense wins you championships. If you want to win a title, you have to play good defense. On all the championship teams I’ve ever played on, we played good defense.”
