The head coaching vacancy was announced in the summer. Coach Salata and his staff joined the program so late in the year that the freshman class had already been set.
As for "we" vs. "me," there are plenty of programs statewide which have been very successful at the district and regional level without overwhelming individual talent. In fact, we've struggled against or lost to teams with inferior talent but better team play. We often would enter post-season games with vastly superior talent only to lose or just barely survive.
I'll give Coach Salata a few years to see what he can assemble. He's put the system in place. It's something we haven't had in years. He'll develop the current players and add talent to that system. As the current kids improve and he adds talent to the program, I'm very optimistic that they'll regularly compete for regional appearances. Once you're in the regionals, anything can happen unless you run into an absolutely loaded team. Perhaps before too long, that loaded team will be ours.
The Coach Welo references make no sense to me. Coach Welo's success or lack thereof at Benedictine will in no way affect Coach Salata's. There is no relationship between the two (no, the connections to St. Ignatius are not relevant). Furthermore, no one can argue that Coach Salata wasn't qualified for this job. He has an excellent resume and extensive experience. There's no reason for anyone to doubt this hire so early in his tenure. If you're not happy with him, you wouldn't be happy with anyone. Take the long view. Give the kids time to acclimate to the new system, and give Coach Salata and his staff time to build something. We all know the foundation for long-term success isn't built overnight.
