Old Rochester’s Carvalho Named Coach of the Year

As much as he would have liked to have kept it under wraps, the secret is out.  Old Rochester's head basketball coach has been named Division 3 Coach of the Year.  Steve Carvalho tells Fun 107 that he first heard about the honor over the summer, but decided to sit on the information instead of letting people know.

"I tried to keep it as quiet as possible since the summer, but it kind of got forced out, so I guess it's something that should maybe be out there.  I was planning on putting something in the Superintendent's newsletter at some point, but this is the world we live in."

Naturally, Carvalho placed credit for the honor at the feet of his players.  "This was for last year's team, the team that went to the state finals.  I was surrounded by a bunch of great players."  Carvalho says he was proud that he came back strong after losing some very key players.  "It was kind of a new team," said the coach.  "We only brought back one starter.  To go that deep in the tournament was special."

Carvalho says last season's team was blessed with a lot of talent. "Sometimes you just put the ball in the players' hands and you just let them go to town.  You just stay out of the way."

He also says the new playoff format that allows teams to host games up until the final four was not only a huge advantage, but a lot of fun.  "To have that environment and have the community buying in again, I liked having that feel outside of basketball."