Girls Basketball: North Shore welcome new pair of coaches

Updated: November 8, 2011 8:14PM

When North Shore Country Day girls basketball head coach Jon Cohn stepped down, the Raiders program needed to find a replacement. But who knew that the school would search across the United States?

There will be a Massachusetts connection in the North Shore gym this winter. New varsity coach Maggie Scannell played her high school ball at Wellesley High School, and took those skills to Williams College, which is halfway between Boston and New York.

Scannell’s co-coach this year is Ethan Timmins-Schiffman.

“I played at Williams College, though I was on the men’s team,” Timmins-Schiffman said.

With new coaches in the building, it will be a task to figure out who the players to watch are on the this season’s squad. It helps that Scannell was coaching last year on the middle school campus.

“We have a roster of hard-working, passionate girls,” Scannell said. “While our team is young (nearly half of the roster is made up of freshmen), we have strong leadership from our upperclassmen. The girls just completed their first full week of practice, and we are starting to get into a rhythm.”

Now it’s not a total mystery over there. The Raiders return a formidable scorer in Kim Kahnweiler. She’s quite capable of putting up 20 points per game.

“Kim is a diligent athlete who always puts the extra time in to learn and improve her game,” Scannell said. “And her diligence and perseverance serve as a strong model for our team.”

The roster could include Alex Barker, Ilhana Redzovic and Michelle Cervantes.

Timmins-Schiffman is hoping to see his team come together in the next week.

“Our philosophy is that no individual stands above or separately from the team,” he said. “We currently have a number of girls who will be competing for playing time on the varsity team, but have not established a set rotation yet.

“Coaching this team is a wonderful opportunity because of the superb character of North Shore’s student athletes — and the school’s commitment to excellence, both athletic and academic.”

Both coaches want to see a team that will compete on a nightly basis.

“We expect the girls to enter every game with high expectations for themselves, and for their opponent,” Scannell said. “We want the girls to approach every game as an opportunity, and we expect to be a force within the league.”

North Shore plays in the Independent School League, along with Willows Academy, Parker, Morgan Park, Elgin, University and Latin.

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