LI Welcomes New Basketball Coach

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Created on Friday, 31 October 2014 19:47
Written by Dominic Amato

joyalfinalLYNDONVILLE- After their first championship in 104 years of basketball at Lyndon Institute, head coach, Pat Guckin decided to step down from his position to spend more time with his family. This opened the door for new head coach, Phil Joyal.

 Joyal has been coaching basketball for 16 years at the youth to middle school level. Four years ago he moved to Lyndon where he started the first Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) program in the area. The AAU program, the Lyndon Lightening, is a developmental program for boys and girls with kids playing from the sixth grade level, up to the high school level. 

When asked what the difference would be between coaching younger players and now moving to the high school level, Joyal said, "Basketball is basketball. It will certainly be a higher level, and the expectations will be higher, they're a little different obviously because the philosophy of the two programs are different, but I'm definitely looking forward to it."

Prior to starting his coaching job at LI, Joyal coached basketball at the Barre Town School for both the elementary and middle school teams. Joyal is also the Athletic Director for the school, and will keep his position while coaching the Vikings. 

Paul Wheeler, Athletic Director for Lyndon Institute shared his feelings toward hiring Joyal.

"I'm excited. I'm really excited to have Phil Joyal on board. Vast experience at multiple levels. Success at every level that he's coached at. I'm really thrilled to have him on board. And the numbers we saw at sign ups today were incredible. So there's a very positive buzz in the school around his appointment as the head basketball coach."

There were more than 50 students that signed up for try-outs on the first day that it was posted, with the actual try-outs for the team beginning on November 17th.

As for Joyal's plans for the court, he is first looking to get to know the players. Although he knows some players from the AAU program, he is excited to meet the news players that are interested. Joyal is also anxious to physically get on the court and start, he runs an aggressive offense and defense and is a fan of set plays. He feels no pressure to win, but only puts the pressure on himself.

"I fell in love with it (basketball), the X's and O's of the game, I really like setting up different plays and different teams." 

The Vikings will hold their first scrimmage within the next couple of weeks, and their first game will be at North Country Union High School on December 8th.