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August 12
2010
Loudis is
named Schenectady basketball coach
Young coach is ready
for challenge & optimistic about upcoming first season
 The
Schenectady City School District is pleased to announce that
Eric Loudis has been named coach of the Schenectady High School
Boys Varsity Basketball Team. The board of education approved
the appointment at the August 11, 2010 meeting. Loudis will
replace Mark Sausville, who resigned last month for personal
reasons.
Loudis, 28, is
not new to the Schenectady basketball program or Schenectady
High School. He served as assistant basketball coach since 2007
and has been a math teacher at Schenectady High School since
2005. The coach strongly believes that his experience with
the team and being a teacher in the school will serve him well
as he assumes the role of head coach. “Mark taught me a lot. I
know the system. I know what to expect,” said Loudis who is
optimistic and sees great potential for the upcoming season.
Schenectady finished 11-9 last season, losing to Shenendehowa in
the quarterfinals of the Section II Class AA tournament.
Steve Boynton,
assistant director of athletics for the school district, said
that despite being a young coach, Loudis benefits from
extraordinary experience as an assistant to Sausville who led
Schenectady to a State Championship and by being the son of
Schenectady Hall of Famer Joe Loudis.
“He has had a very
impressive internship from the time he could walk under the Hall
of Fame coach who is his father,” said Boynton. The elder
Loudis was a four sport standout athlete at Mont Pleasant High
School, member of the 1954 Schenectady Little League World
Championship Team and coach of high school baseball and
basketball teams over a period of five decades. Over the years,
Loudis was named “Coach of the Year,” multiple times by local
newspapers and television stations. Loudis was named to the
Schenectady City School District Athletic Hall of Fame in
2008. “Eric has seen what it takes to bring a team to the
highest level,” said Boynton.
When it comes to
the game, Loudis is taking his team back to basics and
redirecting focus to the fundamentals of basketball. “They will
see that we don’t have to be flashy to succeed,” said Loudis.
“The simple things will win games.” He is already convinced
that his players will be ready and prepared for every match up
this season. “I guarantee that our team will be the most
prepared team in the Big 10,” said Loudis. “We will be in every
single game.”
Boynton has the
same expectations. “I have very high expectations for the
basketball program, as I do all our athletic programs,” said
Boynton. In addition to being prepared for games, Boynton said
he also expects Schenectady coaches and athletes to represent
the district and city of Schenectady with respect and class.
Loudis has advice
for players. “Come to practice ready and play hard.” He said
his players will have to earn their playing time.
The hard work
doesn’t end on the court. If you play for Loudis, you also have
to work hard and make the grade in the classroom. “What happens
during the school day is most important,” said Loudis. Working
as a teacher in the school, he can easily stay in tune with the
students and on top of their academics. “Before athlete comes
student,” he said. “The classroom comes first. If you are not
doing what you are supposed to do in school, you will not
play. I will sacrifice talent for academics.”
“As a teacher at
Schenectady High School, Eric understands the importance of
academics and as a coach he understands the importance of hard
work,” said Boynton. “He will bring that expectation and
understanding to our basketball program.”
Loudis said those
who think we don’t have talent this year are going to be
surprised. “We are going to come out and surprise people,” he
said. “Before the end of the season, they are going to know
Schenectady basketball.”
Loudis served as
assistant coach of the Mechanicville High School Boys Varsity
Basketball Team from 2005-2007. He was scout for the Gym Rat
Basketball Challenge in 2008-2009. He was member of the Coastal
Carolina Intramural Basketball League for four years. Loudis
was a three-year player on the Cohoes/Catholic Central Varsity
Basketball Team including the 1998 semifinalist Section 2 team.
In 2000, he was named Scholar Athlete at Catholic Central.
Boynton said the
pool consisted of “three highly qualified applicants.” Loudis
was selected by a committee that consisted of school
administrators, community members, alumni and coaches including
Judge Barry Kramer, Mike Caruso, head of the Athletic Advisory
Committee, James Kramer, Schenectady High School head football
coach, Gregory Fields, associate superintendent of Schenectady
High School, William Roberts, assistant superintendent for
operations and Boynton.
------------------------------------------
In the News
August 13
2010
Daily Gazette
Loudis has tough act to follow at
Schenectady
As an
assistant coach at two different area programs for the last six
years, Eric Loudis learned his craft from some of the best
basketball minds in Section II history.
Now, the
28-year-old son of Schenectady City School District Hall of
Famer Joe Loudis will get the opportunity to prove he has what
it takes to run his own program.
............... Read the Daily Gazette Story
Here
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