SPORTS

Thibodeau to coach Rocky Hill girls hoops

Posted 7/5/22

By ALEX SPONSELLER

Local basketball coach PJ Thibodeau will be returning to the court next winter season as he was recently named the new girls coach at Rocky Hill Country Day in East …

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SPORTS

Thibodeau to coach Rocky Hill girls hoops

Posted

By ALEX SPONSELLER


Local basketball coach PJ Thibodeau will be returning to the court next winter season as he was recently named the new girls coach at Rocky Hill Country Day in East Greenwich.

Thibodeau has coached at the youth and high school level and has worked with the Cranston Youth Basketball Association as well as Swarm Basketball. He played college basketball for Rhode Island College as well as Army during his playing days.

Thibodeau coached the Cranston High School West girls program for five seasons and compiled a 45-44 record in that span to go along with multiple playoff appearances. The Falcons reached the Division I Semifinals during his last season in 2021.

After taking last winter off, he decided to return to the bench when Rocky Hill came calling.

“I wasn’t really planning on coaching last year. My daughter is a captain at CCRI so I wanted to have a chance to watch her play and reflect on some of the things that had happened to make sure that I could be a stronger coach moving forward. I was just going forward without really knowing what I was going to do and this came out of left field. I am humbled that a few people recommended me, I spoke to the athletic director Megan Williams and she was awesome. I was excited to have a chance to build athletes up and to teach them my values,” Thibodeau said.

Although it will be a change of pace for Thibodeau moving to a new school and different conference, he is confident that he will be able to hit the ground running come winter.

“I know quite a bit about NEPSAC. They’re small schools. This is a program that hasn’t had a lot of success, but that is what excited me, is the work. I am proud of what I was able to build at West and the work here is intriguing. I kind of like the fact that they have never had much success. I look forward to being able to build from the ground up,” said Thibodeau.

Thibodeau will be asking the girls to work hard and be fearless when on the court as they look to rebound after a down winter last season.

“Being willing to risk failure. Sometimes kids are too afraid to make mistakes, but I am asking kids to be honest, work hard, have fun and support each other,” said Thibodeau. “I don’t really care about wins and losses. If you put things in place the right way then wins will come. I love the kids that work hard and are team-first.”

Thibodeau, basketball

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