Chartiers Valley girls growing up on the court
Dan Slain hopes to guide Chartiers Valley to the playoffs in this his first season as head coach of the Lady Colts.
South Fayette’s Mikayla Fetchet rips the ball away from Chartiers Valley’s Mackenzie Wagner (No. 5) and Lauren Wagner (No. 22) during section action. Carlee Kilgus (16), Sam Kosmacki (13) and Emily Anderson (10) scored in double figures as the Lions defeated the Colts. In the loss, Mackenzie Wagner fired in 17 points, 15 of them off 3-pointers.
How young are the Lady Colts of Chartiers Valley this basketball season?
So youthful, says Dan Slain, that he is feeding his players “milk and cookies” and ordering a short “nap” for them at halftime.
The Lady Colts lost four starters: Alexa Golden, who is playing at Kent State; Melissa Rickens, Karley O’Keefe and Elizabeth Schneider; from last year’s 22-6 club that reached the district semifinals and the PIAA semifinals. Senior Nicole Olkosky is the lone returning starter but junior Abbey Collins and sophomore Lauren Wagner did gain playing time last season. Freshman Mackenzie Wagner is making an impact as are juniors Abby Shaw and Angelina DiPardo along with newcomer Gabby Legister, another freshman.
“It’s very difficult to replace the experience that the four seniors brought to the team last season,” said Slain.
Oh, but it’s simpler when everybody is starting with a fresh slate and on the same page. The Lady Colts are now under the guidance of Slain and the head coach brings a ton of experience to his new position.
He loved the game of baseball, and his path to a college degree was paved by his abilities on the diamond. He excelled at South Hills Catholic (now Seton-La Salle) and started four years at the University of Pittsburgh. “I wanted to play at the D-1 level in college and baseball was the sport that provided me with the best opportunity to achieve that goal,” he explained.
Pitt also afforded him the chance to earn a degree. After completing one year in dental school, Slain decided to start a sales consulting career in the industry. At the time, he was the director for the new dentist in a practice program with Healthco International and was responsible for helping more than 250 dentists open their new practices in the tri-state area. Currently, Slain is a dental practice transition consultant. His primary responsibilities are to work with clients to develop exit strategies to help them transition out of their practices when the timing is right.
In 2006, Slain embarked on his coaching career at the Campus School of Carlow University in Oakland. He served as a head coach at Aquinas Academy and St. Joseph High School in Natrona before assisting at Riverview. In addition to coaching now at CV, Slain directs the Metro USA AAU Club.
Through his work and his experiences, Slain has adopted his coaching philosophy. He’s all about the “process” which he says in turn drives the “results.” “If the process has purpose and the necessary fundamentals are in place and are followed correctly, then odds are favorable that the results will be successful. Slain employs a formula that he says works on and off the court. “Effort plus execution equals excellence,” he said. “Chase excellence, then you will find success along the way.”
To date, the Colts have pursued excellence. However, they have discovered little success in the way of wins. However, the challenges have been great for such a young club.
CV opened against the No.1 team in Quad-A. Against North Allegheny, which is coached by former CV skipper Spencer Stefko, the Lady Colts dropped a 61-42 decision. They lost back-to-back games against two other formidable Quad-A squads, Canon-McMillan, 45-39, and Upper St. Clair, 50-41, before losing to South Fayette, 54-42. The Lions are ranked No. 1 in Class AAA. On Monday, CV battled Trinity. The Hillers are ranked right behind South Fayette.
“My young players are gaining valuable game experience in playing against the top teams and are “growing up” quickly as a result of this strong competition,” Slain said. “We will continue to work hard and to improve as the season progresses.”
Against the Lions, CV exhibited great progress. The Colts played even with South Fayette, 30-30, until the Lions used a 13-point run to pull away. Using long-range shots, however, they narrowed the gap, 50-42, before succumbing for good.
Mackenzie Wagner tossed in 17 markers. She buried five, 3-pointers. Collins converted three treys to finish with nine points.
“We are a work in progress,” Slain continued, “and we will go through growing pains initially but I’m confident that we will continue to improve from practice to practice and from game to game as these players gain invaluable playing experience.”
Slain plans for his young Colts to gain lots of experience as he expects to be playing into March. His goals start small and build upon each other. First, the Colts expect to get better every day, individually and as a team. As improvement mounts and the season progresses, the objective is to defend the section title then compete for the playoff spots in the WPIAL and PIAA tournaments.
“We have to dream big, work hard, get better and never quit,” said Slain of the requirements necessary for the Colts to reach their goals. “I expect to be in the “Big Dance” when the playoffs start in mid-February.”
CV, however, is attempting to do so with six freshmen on the roster. In addition to Wagner, Legister and Mackey, Mariah Demus, Alexandra Ferrella and Carleea Webb are ninth-graders, too. Hope Trotta is a sophomore while Samantha Hartnett, Hannah Mitchell and Kelly Ryan are juniors.