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St. Joseph by-the-Sea’s Kristine Curcio (22) defends St. Peter’s Sandy Litkenhaus (11) during a game on Jan. 24, 1987. (Staten Island Advance)<\/p>\nSTATEN ISLAND, N.Y.\u2014 Sandy Litkenhaus, one of St. Peter\u2019s Girls High School\u2019s all-time great hoopers and the 1987 Jaques Award winner, has spent years shaping the Staten Island basketball landscape as both a standout player and a coach.<\/p>\n
Now, she\u2019ll finally get her chance to lead a high school program, as Litkenhaus has been named the new head coach of the Staten Island Academy\u2019s girls\u2019 varsity team.<\/p>\n
Litkenhaus, who went on to star at Villanova University after graduating from St. Peter\u2019s, had long been interested in leading a high school program, but the timing never quite aligned. But when Staten Island Academy athletic director Michael Mazella reached out again after her son, Sean, graduated from the Dongan Hills school and headed to college, she knew the moment was finally right.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s a history with the girls\u2019 basketball program there of being very good, and that\u2019s exciting. My son played for the boys\u2019 basketball team, and I really think it was a great experience for him. So it\u2019s kind of like a second home to me. I\u2019ve been there with my children, and now I\u2019m back as a coach; it\u2019s always one of my favorite gyms to play in,\u201d she began.<\/p>\n
Before starting her new journey, Litkenhaus made sure to honor the mentors who guided her at every level of the game\u2014 each helping shape her into the coach she is today.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was coached by Bob Daggett and Pat Daggett, very well known and excellent coaches on Staten Island at St. Christopher\u2019s, Joan Gumb in high school and then Harry Peretta, who coached for 42 years at Villanova.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think those coaches taught me everything I\u2019ve learned, and it\u2019s what I\u2019m going to draw on \u2014 everything they taught me, their knowledge of the game. I\u2019m going to try to teach that, and I\u2019m going to try to coach how I was coached,” she shared.<\/p>\n
Litkenhaus also thanked the tight-knit borough basketball community for the congratulations and well wishes following her appointment, noting that the support she\u2019s received has \u201cbeen all positive feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people have reached out to congratulate me and say it\u2019s great and about time. I\u2019ve had a lot of positive feedback from people who just heard through the basketball community and texted me or mentioned it when I ran into them at Staten Island Academy or around the borough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe basketball community is pretty small \u2014 you run into a lot of people, and we\u2019re all doing the same thing, trying to teach the game, give back to what we were taught, and pay it forward to the kids,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As for her coaching background, Litkenhaus believes that all of her previous experiences \u2014 whether running camps or coaching AAU \u2014 have prepared her to take on a high school team.<\/p>\n
St. Joseph by-the-Sea’s Kristine Curcio (22) defends St. Peter’s Sandy Litkenhaus (11) during a game on Jan. 24, 1987. (Staten Island Advance)<\/p>\n
\u201cI always did a lot of workouts, ran clinics, and stayed involved in basketball \u2014 either playing or coaching. I\u2019ve played in an adult league since I graduated from college, and I\u2019ve always done camps. I started coaching AAU for seventh and eighth-graders with the Staten Island Mavericks right around the time COVID hit. Three of those players I coached with the Mavericks are playing in college now,” Litkenhaus shared.<\/p>\n
The former Jaques Award winner also works full time as a school nurse \u2014 a career she believes has given her the compassion and patience essential to working with kids in any setting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think with school nursing, you talk to kids a lot and realize they have a lot of stress in their lives. You have to look at them as a whole person \u2014 not just a basketball player, but what\u2019s happening in school, at home, and everything else that affects them \u2014 and try to help them create a balance,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Lastly, when asked what she hopes to accomplish in her first season with a team that went a strong 20\u20136 last year, Litkenhaus didn\u2019t mention championships or win total goals. Instead, she offered a more holistic answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel that I bring a female player perspective to my coaching approach, so I can offer guidance to these girls through my own playing experience,\u201d Litkenhaus said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think what\u2019s really important is that I want to challenge them to figure out what kind of player they want to be, help them reach that goal, but also help them understand that they play a role within a team system and help them figure out what is going to make them a better teammate and how they can help make the team better,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n
With the Tigers\u2019 season opener set for Nov. 26, it\u2019s clear that while Litkenhaus will aim to help her players win games, she\u2019s even more focused on helping them grow into well-rounded young women in the process.<\/p>\n
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