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YYWWULCULJL JLJLWlA^lIX/O OV7V7ULJL WillContinued from Page 13Predictably, Woodall refused to take all the credit for all the wins.“Otto has been with me every step of the way,” he said. “Every victory I have had, he’s had, too. He’s an excellent assistant coach. But this is truly a team game.”The team concept was on display against Allderdice (5-9), a member of the Pittsburgh City League. While the Dragons relied on guard Sierra Fordham to shoulder the load — she scored 25 of her team’s 36 points — the Indians spread things around. Kaitlyn Hoff led things with 23 points, but Bujdos dominated the glass, Jess Stever played solid defense, Zoe Za-horchak was a presence in the paint, and Abbey Karcher proved to be an outside threat.And as Indiana (13-3) cruises toward the WPIAL playoffs with hopes of winning another section title, Woodall wants his team focused on taking care of business and getting better every day. The Indians are tied with Mount Pleasant for the moment, but they seemed poised to pull away after their 10th consecutive win.“The nice thing about this whole thing is that we have everything in our control,” Woodall said. “We don’t need anybody to do anything for us. Even if we end up tied with Mount Pleasant at the end of the year, we have the better overall record and we beat them last, and we beat them by quite a bit. So we could only mess this up by not being ready to play.”The Indians were ready, and after a back-and-forth first quarter, they pulled away and never let Allderdice get closer than seven points in the second half.“Everyone felt so much more pressure for this game — and it’s not even a section game,” Bujdos said. “Just the feeling once we kind of knew we were going to win ... it was a nice feeling, just for the coaches.”Indiana’s easy win was certainly another example of good coaching mixed with good players. But that’s nothing new for a program that has blossomed over the past two decades into one of the most consistent winners in the WPIAL.“I’m happy, not only for him, but for Otto, too,” said Megan Mills, Woodall’s daughter and his other assistant coach. “They put in more work than people would believe. ... They put in so much work with these girls, and they enjoy it....You’re just happy because they kind of get a little bit of the recognition. Sometimes coaches don’t get all the recognition they deserve.”Woodall was presented with a plaque after the game, and his milestone accomplishment was announced to the fans left in the gymnasium. He somewhat sheepishly accepted the award, and then he ushered his team away to the locker room. It was only after talking to the team that Woodall would let himself think much about the 300 wins. But he was quick to share the accolades.“It’s neat that I’ve been able to coach 18 years in one place, and I think that means it’s a special place,” he said. “I’ve gotten a lot of support from a lot of people, like the school board, the athletic department, the parents and the kids themselves.”But there’s more to it than that, isn’t it?A coach who doesn’t know his X’s and O’s wouldn’t last 18 years on the job, and one who didn’t know how to get the best effort out of his players would have lost the job years ago.So despite what he says, the 300 wins speak volumes about the quality of coach that Woodall has become.But why is he still at it? Woodall retired from his teaching job a few years ago, and he’s a grandfather now. He could be spending his time on the golf course or in the garden. Instead, he’s breaking down game film and scouting opponents for the upcoming playoffs. Oh, and he and Peterson also coach the Indiana junior high team.But why?That’s an easy question, one Woodall can answer without much thought.“I know it’s well overused, but it’s fun,” he said. “We have a blast. This current group is a lot of fun. That’s all it is. It’s not like we have competitive fires that we just can’t quench. The girls are fun. This is a good time. The girls work hard for us. They’re respectful.“As long as we’re semi-successful, I don’t see any reason not to do this. If it wasn’t fun, if it was a chore, I wouldn’t be doing this. I’d be retired.”So with 300 wins in his back pocket, will Woodall start looking ahead to 400?“No way,” he said with a chuckle. “We just talk about making the playoffs and seeing how far we can go.”
Newspaper Details
Indiana Gazette
Indiana, Pennsylvania, US
Fri, Jan 24, 2014
Page 14
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
PA, USA 03 Apr 2022
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