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St. Mary's girls coach adjusts to new home By Don Hunt Pete Zappas was sitting in the Gold Beach High gymnasium a couple of weeks ago wondering what kind of predicament he had gotten himself into. Zappas' St. Mary's High girls basketball team had just gone scoreless for an entire period of play and trailed Gold Beach, 41-5, at halftime. Four months ago, Zappas came to Medford from Pittsburgh, Pa. He had spent most of his life on the other side of the country and had headed west on the recommendation of new St. Mary's Principal Bo Buran, a former teacher and coach of his in Pittsburgh. Thirty-one years old and single, Zappas doesn't consider the Rogue Valley a hotbed of activity, and he's been slow to recover from the culture shock of his new surroundings. And now this - getting his brains beat out at a holiday tournament on the rain-drenched Oregon Coast. "I was having some second thoughts about this whole deal," Zappas admits. "I'm an old football player, and at the time I would have given anything to line up against somebody and take my frustrations out." St. Mary's lost to Gold Beach, 70-23, and lost its other two games at the tournament as well. It didn't help Zappas that his two most experienced players, senior guard Annie Maurer and junior post Christina Vaninetti, missed the tourney due to family commitments. Or that Gold Beach happens to be one of the strongest Class 2A girls programs in the state. Or that their other two opponents - Illinois Valley and Phoenix - were Class 3A schools. "I felt like we were in a lion's den with no way out," Zappas says. But if there's one characteristic about football players from Pittsburgh - and yes, Zappas is a big Steelers fan - it's that they're as tough as the steel that comes out of their mills. Zappas and his girls took the punishment, returned to practice the following Monday and vowed to get better. And they have. Despite starting two and sometimes three freshmen, and with five freshmen and four sophomores on the roster, the Crusaders have bagged two wins over the past week and could pose some problems for Southern Cascade League rivals once league play begins in January. "We were kind of lost at Gold Beach without the two older kids, but in a way it was a blessing in disguise because the freshmen had to grow up that much faster," Zappas says. "It's been awfully frustrating at times because we make so many mistakes, but it's been fun to see the improvement and know that these young kids are in this for the long haul." One of the freshmen, 6-foot-1 post Brittany Farrer, has put up some impressive numbers. She's averaging 17.5 points and 11 rebounds per game, and registered a 25-point, 17-rebound effort in the 52-41 loss to Phoenix. "She's got a very good touch around the basket and she'll keep chasing the ball until she puts it in," Zappas says. "Without question, Brittany's become the offensive leader of this team." Coupled with the 6-2 Vaninetti, St. Mary's boasts one of the taller front lines in the state. The key to the team's success, however, may be how quickly small forward-turned-point guard Annie Maurer adjusts to her new position. "She's a senior, the captain and the vocal leader," Zappas says. "She's not going to dazzle anyone with her ball-handling, but she's strong with the ball and makes good decisions." This is the first year that Zappas has coached girls. His five previous seasons coaching basketball have been spent with freshmen and junior varsity boys. "I get emotionally involved and pretty vocal at times, but I've tried my best not to be negative with the girls," he says. "They're definitely more sensitive and fragile than the boys I coached. I try to make it clear to them that if I look and sound mad, I'm really not. I'm just trying to make them better players. "I look these girls in the face and think, shoot, they're young kids, barely out of junior high." Zappas was born and raised in Pittsburgh, where he played football, basketball and baseball at a prep school. He went on to play football as a 5-foot-9, 225-pound nose tackle at nearby Washington and Jefferson University, where his biggest claim to fame was tackling future NFL running back Chris Warren in a Division III playoff game. Zappas then attended graduate school at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, earning masters degrees in history and secondary education. He is the dean of students at St. Mary's and finds time to teach three history classes. Zappas is tickled to be working under Buran, the new principal who is intent on getting sports off the back burner at St. Mary's. "He wants more student athletes - he's interested in increasing the participation level," Zappas says. Zappas is interested in building the girls program at St. Mary's. It looks as though the process is well under way. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.