FeedsNew coach readies for new season, new conference
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Todd GudithThe 2009 girls’ basketball season holds several challenges for Northville when it gets under way in December, but a fresh start could be the key to overcoming them.
When venerated Northville Coach Pete Wright retired after 21 years of coaching basketball in Northville it opened the door for Todd Gudith, a former assistant varsity coach and junior varsity head coach for Northville, to take over as the commander and chief of the girls program.
“I’m excited about it,” said Gudith. “It was a good experience to work with Pete (Wright). He was a good mentor that was understanding and let me speak my mind—he valued the opinions of his assistant coaches. We have a lot of work ahead to get ready for the new season, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Gudith served as a varsity assistant basketball coach at Southgate Anderson High School from 2002-2004 before coming to Northville as a varsity assistant coach in 2004. After the 2006 season he took over as the head junior varsity girls’ basketball coach at for the 2007-08 season.
“The Northville Athletic Department is very excited to have Todd Gudith as the head coach of the Northville High School girls basketball program,” said Athletics Director Bryan Masi. “Todd is a well-respected teacher and coach in the Northville community. We believe his knowledge, organization and character will help our program to achieve at a high level.”
Gudith is a graduate of Wyandotte High School and Wayne State University. He earned a teaching degree from Wayne State University and currently teaches in the Science Department at Meads Mill Middle School.
Wright, who retired after 21 years of coaching hoops at Northville High school, said the district made a solid choice.
“(He) is a very hard working young coach,” Wright said of his successor. “He understands all of the aspects required both on and off of the court to coach a varsity team. He has spent a ton of time learning the game and he spends time with each player year round to ensure they understand what needs to be done to make the team successful.”
The new coach will have a lot of new challenges to face in his first year as head coach.
First, he has to find a new assistant varsity coach and new head junior varsity coach. Northville, along with most teams in the state, is still adjusting to winter season play and now players will have to adjust to a new coach, too.
Northville is also one of 24 teams affected by the merger of the Kensington Valley Conference and the Western Lakes Activities Association. This is the first year of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association (KLAA), where Gudith and his Lady Mustangs will face teams in the Central division of the Kensington Conference side that they normally wouldn’t have had to—like Stevenson and the always-tough Salem.
It also means their cross-town rivalry with Novi just got a little more intense. Instead of facing the Wildcats just once in an essentially meaningless—other than for bragging rights—non-league contest, the two teams will now have to face each other twice in vital division match-ups.
“That rivalry has more meaning now,” Gudith said. “It will be a little difficult because everything will be new next year.”
Gudith said it is early yet to assess the team, but he hopes with a good summer program and offseason workouts the team will be ready for a new season and a new league.
“We’ve had a winning program the last four years and I don’t want to us to take a dip just because of a new coach,” he said.
