Courtside with Joe Bertrand: Saugus coach’s strategy for basketball success

By Dom Nicastro

The Saugus High School boys’ basketball team rallied from 16 points down in the second half but fell just shy in a season-opening, 47-45 defeat to Northeastern Conference rival Swampscott. Danny Shea led Saugus with 15 points, and Isaiah Rodriguez added 12 points while Huey Josama turned in six points for the Sachems.

The Sachems did a great job fighting back, only allowing 14 second-half points. “We were down by 16 at one point in the third quarter,” Saugus coach Joe Bertrand said. “Our defense sparked a solid comeback, being able to tie the game late in the fourth. I’m proud of our guys. Hoping we can give this effort all season.”

Before the season-opener, Bertrand caught up with the Saugus Advocate for an insightful Q&A, delving into the dynamics of team building, coaching strategies and the aspirations for the season.

Bertrand, a 1,000-point scorer at Saugus who went on to play at Norwich University, is in his third year at the helm and fifth within the program, demonstrating a deep-rooted passion for the game that transcends the court. He brings a unique perspective to the team, combining his rich history with the school and his commitment to fostering a program that not only competes but also builds character.

Name: Joe Bertrand.

Team: Saugus High School.

Years coaching in this position: Fifth year as a coach in the program. Third year as head coach, succeeding his father, Mark, who died in December 2020 shortly before his season was about to begin.

History of coaching/your own playing days: player at Saugus from 2010-2014, player at Norwich University 2014-2018.

  What keeps you coming back each year? There is so much school pride between the players, their families, our entire coaching staff and the administration. Every year brings new challenges, and every player is committed to help make the team and program better than when they entered it.

How did tryouts go? How many tried out, and how many are left between the varsity and sub-varsity teams? We had 45 kids try out for all three teams and are currently left with 36 players. Some will be swinging between freshman/JV and JV/Varsity.

What was last year’s record/postseason results?

  Last year’s record was 13-7. We won the NEC Lynch Division. We ended ranked 17 in Division 3 and lost to 16-ranked Seekonk in the round of 32.

What would you say are the strengths of this year’s team and why?

  This year’s strengths are that we have good shooters up and down the roster. We are also overall a much faster and quicker team than we have had recently, and I think we are going to be able to use that to our advantage to cause some chaos on the defensive end of the floor.

What are areas for improvement and why?

  We are a very young team returning one starter and two total players that got solid varsity time last year. We will need to work on maturing and going from a group of basketball players and turning into a team.

Any players to watch – and what can you say about their potential contributions this winter?

  Isaiah Rodriguez is a senior and our lone returning starter who we are expecting a big year out of. Travis Goyetche and Braden Faiella are also seniors who both were in the mix last year in the varsity rotation. All three seniors are showing they are ready to repeat last year’s success in the regular season.

Danny Shea, Cam Victor, Danny Zeitz and Cam Soroko are all juniors who are going to be a big part of the team moving forward. Huey Josama, Ryan Shea, Nathan Soroko and Jordan Rodriguez are all sophomores who are quickly adjusting to varsity every day and finding their way.

Who are your assistants/sub-varsity coaches and what do they each bring?

  Jack Furey, varsity assistant, Saugus basketball alumni, 2014. He brings high energy and lots of positivity to the team along with helping develop our offensive game plan.

Dan Bertrand (brother), JV head coach/varsity assistant, Saugus basketball alumni, 2016. He brings a lot of knowledge from playing college basketball at Norwich. He is a great leader for the JV team and has a big part in developing the varsity defensive game plan.

Chris Myette, freshman head coach. He has been a great addition to our staff in the past couple years. He builds great relationships with the players and holds them all to a high standard.

What are the big team goals this winter?

  The big team goals this year are to:

• First, get to 10 wins and then go from there.
• Be in the top 32 of the MIAA Power Rankings by the end of the year.
• Win a tournament game.

These are our first list of goals and will look to build off of them as the year goes on.

How is the conference split up this year, and which teams present challenges and how so?

  Dunn Division: Beverly, Peabody, Masco, Salem, Marblehead.

Lynch Division: Saugus, Gloucester, Swampscott, Winthrop, Danvers.

Every team presents a new challenge each night. Any conference game is always going to be a battle. We are looking forward to conference play this year.

The new MIAA rankings bring in challenges with non-league schedules and making sure there are good, quality teams. How is your non-league sked shaping up if you have any?

  Non-league scheduling was never easy, and the new power ranking makes it even more difficult. Our staff built a schedule that we thought was going to give us the best chance to get to 10 wins, play tough competition to be ready for the postseason and to help build a power ranking.

Anything else you’d like to add, feel free.

  Entering my third year as head coach I am happy with the progress we have made as a program. All the support we receive to make that happen is appreciated. This team is hungry to get back to the state tournament and this time come out with a victory.