The Fightin’ Irish teams are set to face off in the 79th edition of the Bruce Mahoney Basketball game against Saint Ignatius at the Chase Center this Friday. The boys’ team began the season with a new coach, Andrew Kochevar. So far, Kochevar has led the team to an impressive 8-5 start. The Irish now look to take the third leg of the Bruce Mahoney series. This past week, we sat down with Coach Andrew to discuss his first year at SHC and his hopes for a team victory on Friday night.
How has your first semester/season been here at SHC?
Kochevar: It’s been awesome. It’s mainly been about becoming grounded here and finding my place. I love the community. I love the people I work with, and I love the student-athletes that I get to work with every single day. It is a privilege to be here, and I’m really enjoying myself.
So far, the season has been very successful with a record of 8-5, highlighted by a big win last week versus St. Francis. How do you plan to keep the momentum for the rest of the week with SI on Friday?
Kochevar: I think we figured out how we can be successful, and that’s by bringing tremendous effort on the defensive end and playing selflessly offensively. We’ve had success over the past couple of weeks, thanks to our great effort. We’ve gone toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the state with Riordan here for a half. And obviously, going down on the road to Saint Francis and beating them down there, we did it with great effort, a defensive mindset, and sharing the ball offensively. So I think they’re seeing success, and they’re feeling success, and they’re buying into the way we play, and I think that’s what’s gonna carry us through the season.
You’re new to the sidelines here. Have you had a moment yet where you realized how much this game means to the community?
Kochevar: I’ve known this has been a big game since the day I got this job. A lot of alumni are super passionate about the Bruce-Mahoney game. They’re passionate about Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory athletics in general. I received numerous phone calls after getting this coaching job about what it means to play in that game. I’m very aware of how significant this moment is, and I don’t take it lightly. But at the end of the day, it’s great for the community, but for my guys, it needs to be just a WCAL game. It’s just another league game for us that we need to go out and try to win. Obviously, the magnitude is amplified, but ultimately, it just counts as a win or a loss on our record.
Do you think SHC’s past losses to SI will have any effect on the team’s mindset going into the game?
Kochevar: I think it will have zero effect on the way we’re going to approach this game. We’re a brand new team. I’m a brand new coach. Our identity is completely different than in the past. I wasn’t here to experience what’s gone in the past, and I have a ton of respect for Coach Smith and what he’s done with his program. And we’re just a completely different team. I think we play a lot more unselfishly. I think we’re more defensive-minded, and I think that we can get stops when we need stops. And yeah, that’s what we’re going to do, throw our best punch on Friday night.
Do you have a motto that you want the team to follow?
Kochevar: So every day on the board, I write, PLAY FAST, PLAY FREE, BE SHC. We play fast, we play free, we share the ball, and we try to be ourselves. We don’t try to be anything that we’re not. And when we play with that mindset, everybody buys into it, they play their role, and we do the things that we’re good at in a really high level, and then we have success doing that.
The boy’s basketball team’s goal of winning the Bruce Mahoney will be put to the test this Friday at 7:00 PM at the Chase Center. The team hopes to bring their newfound energy and identity to the clash against Saint Ignatius with help from the SHC student section showing up loud and proud.
Many thanks to Coach Andrew Kochevar for taking the time to meet with us, and best of luck to the Fightin’ Irish basketball program.
