On the second Tuesday of their summer vacation, nine members of the St. Aloysius girls’ basketball team showed up for practice.

However, this practice would be a bit different from the in-season practices of the school year.

Awaiting the team was the school’s new basketball coach Gary Post and his four decades of experience. Of those 40 years, 37 were spent throughout Mississippi, most recently in Learned at Rebul Academy. The other three were spent in Redondo Beach, California at Redondo Union High and in Memphis at Raleigh-Egypt High.

Post heard about the position through family friend, former Clinton High basketball coach and Flashes supporter George Cronia. His decision to coach at St. Al was solidified when he stepped foot on campus. He said being on campus just felt right to him.

“I’ve always had a great deal of respect for St. Al; the academics,” Post said.

While Post is in a new city with new players, he’ll see a familiar face in the halls.

Post is reunited with assistant football coach Michael Fields, who helmed Raymond’s football team for two seasons.

“He’s probably the best boys’ track coach I’ve ever seen, and a good track coach, and a good guy,” Post said. “I knew he was here and it seemed like St. Al was serious about starting a program.”

Tuesday marked Post’s initial meeting of part of his girls’ team and will meet members of the boys’ team Wednesday morning. He admits to being a long-winded individual who can sometimes say more than is required, but tries to be personable for his players.

“I want them to come back to practice. I don’t want to be too tough or too lenient. Discipline is a big part of any sport and academics too. I hope I’ve developed a personality where I can make them laugh or smile and when I get on to them they’ll fell bad for a little while and want to do better,” Post said adding that he hoped his mixture of coaching styles came off well in the first practice.

Within the 90-minute session, Post focused on fundamentals.

Girls worked on their shooting motion with an emphasis on holding their follow through. He worked them in half-court and full-court drills, specifically on the fast break.

Post noticed his girls were a bit apprehensive as practice ran along. This puts a greater deal of importance on the next scheduled one, as players don’t showcase their full potential when playing apprehensively.

“They’ll be used to what I’m looking for and they’ll improve on it,” Post said.

Battling vacation plans and cheer camps, Post is faced with finding practice time during a typically leisurely-busy time for students.

The task is made easier by a group of players who sacrifice any remaining free time, which is evident from the girls’ agreement to practice at 7 a.m. Thursday. Post was excited to hear his players work together to establish a practice time instead of using schedule conflicts as an excuse.

Post wants to eventually host a summer camp for his players and begin scrimmaging.

But in order to get that far with the teams, he’ll have to do what the age-old cliché tells him: take it a day at a time.

“I’m not planning too far ahead this summer,” Post said.

Every coach has different expectations for their team with Post being no exception, although he doesn’t measure his teams’ successes in wins. He defines success as his team being able to execute the offense correctly, having solid fundamentals and being in shape.

Above all else, Post wants his players to learn and enjoy the game of basketball.

With more than 40 years of coaching experience under his belt, Post has accumulated an impressive amount of distinctions. He won a state championship in 1999 with Raymond; was state runners-up in the 1970s and 1980s; twice was an all-star coach, once for boys and girls; amassed 573 career-victories; and was named Coach of the Year.

Post credits his experiences as his strength, but realizes there are things he can improve upon as a coach.

“Things I need to work on are probably better use of practice time and learning how to be flexible,” Post said.