Luke Whitehouse
@Lwhitehouse12
As the clock wound down inside Blake Arena, Wareham (Mass.) High head coach Steve Faniel began to make his way toward his players to get into a line to shake hands.
The Vikings defeated Millbury High School 51-43 on day one of the 2024 Spalding Hoophall Classic, improving to 7-2 on the season.
It marked the start to Faniel’s second sports season.
Yes, you read that right.
Being a two-sport athlete in high school is impressive, albeit very common.
But a two-sport coach?
Hardly seen – especially when one sport is high school and the other college.
But Faniel is doing just that.
He is in the midst of leading his team to another impressive season coming on the heels of a Massachusetts Div. 4 state championship last season. He also is coming off a 9-2 record as the defensive coordinator for the UMass Dartmouth football team.
Faniel took over the Wareham basketball program in 2015 after serving as its junior varsity coach for the previous 10 years and has been the Corsairs’ DC since 2007, while also being promoted to associate head coach in 2016.
One might think one coaching job is enough, so why two?
“I got both jobs at 25; it’s all I know,” Faniel said. “I love helping kids. I mean, that’s why you get into [coaching], right?
Then comes the challenge of recruiting.
Faniel’s position at UMass Dartmouth requires him to go out and recruit in the offseason, as well as touch base with his players already on the roster, while simultaneously coaching his team at Wareham.
“The challenging thing is I feel like I’m letting them both down,” Faniel said. “They are both year-long jobs and I kind of gotta take time off from the other one to do the other job.”
He also added: “It’s also a lot of not sleeping, but that’s just the nature of the beast.”
What makes Faniel’s feat even more impressive is the success that he’s accumulated throughout his time with both the Corsairs and the Vikings.
Beside leading Wareham to a state championship, Faniel has also tutored two Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Northeast All-Stars and 12 All-Conference recipients, as well as Rich Braley, the school’s single-season (122) and career leader in total tackles (348).
“To get anything good in life you just gotta work hard,” Faniel said. “And if you work hard, generally good things will happen.”
But he quickly diverted his praise.
“Another thing is that I’m blessed to have good players, I’m not a genius,” Faniel said.I’ve been doing this for a long time and haven’t always had success.”
Faniel’s love for coaching has tied him to the profession for over a decade. But what stays with him the most is the lessons he’s learned along the way.
“No matter how many times you get knocked down, no matter how many times things seem bad, just keep working hard and surround yourself with good people and you can overcome any obstacle,” he said.
Making an impact on kids’ lives has become his life’s calling. Coaches can get caught up in wins and losses being at the top of the priority list, but for Faniel, it’s something much more.
“Everybody wants to win, but at the end of the day you want to touch base with as many kids as you can and make their lives better,” he said. Don’t let them make the same mistakes you did and help them in every way possible to reach their goals.”
Photo Courtesy of Patrick Fergus/The Springfield Student