Mike Reidy, a 1987 Wellesley High School alumnus as well as a Raiders hoop player back in the day, has been named as the school’s new head coach for the varsity boys’ basketball team. This will be his second time in charge of the team: He was head coach from 1994 until 2002, when he left to pursue an administrative degree.

Reidy replaces Glen Magpiong, who last month was named as head coach for the girls’ varsity basketball team.

During Reidy’s time as head coach at WHS, he was named Bay State Conference Coach of the Year three times, won three Bay State Conference Championships, took two teams to the MIAA Sectional Quarter Finals and two teams to the MIAA Sectional Semi Finals.

In 2004 he was hired as the head boys’ basketball coach in Westwood, where he stayed until 2010. Reidy then became the assistant coach at Needham High from 2011-2014.

Reidy has also coached AAU Basketball for Mass Premier since 2010.

Asked about what’s most different between coaching now vs. previously at WHS (aside from being in a new building and gym), Reidy replied:

“Obviously the timing of my appointment is quite different – becoming head coach 3 weeks before the start of this season compresses all the work that typically happens within a coaching change, and is much less than the time I had last time around before taking the floor in the winter. There is multi-layered relational, scheme, and logistical work that we are immersed in right now to put ourselves in the best position to start the season.

That said, I think my awareness of these complexities is more nuanced than last time I coached in this program. To name a few, I am working to get to know the captains, to develop an insider view of the culture in the program, and planning meetings with parents and community members, all part of an effort to complement basketball-specific work. The great news in 2014 is that there is precedent and receptivity for all this – Coach Magpiong, and before him, Coach Day, built quite a foundation. Many players have been diligently training since last March and bring an expectation of themselves and other players that is appropriate, and impressive. So perhaps the biggest difference between then and now is the possibility for important continuities in 2014.”