Coach McKinght Spotlight
March 2025

With 15 seconds remaining in the final game of the season, the Great Neck North Varsity Girls basketball team, trailing by two points, stood in their huddle, having just called timeout. They had the ball and a chance to win their first game of the season. All the work that had gone into developing a Sophomore laden team came down to a single play. At that moment, Assistant
Coach, Jennifer McKnight, said to sophomore Madison Toch, “you’ve got a terrific shot, so shoot the ball”. And with that advice, she shot a three-pointer, a shot the entire gym thought was in but somehow bounced out. But while the season might have ended with that heartbreaking loss, it hopefully marks the beginning of a successful run for a young team and a new, but experienced, assistant coach.

 

McKnight just completed her first season as Assistant Coach for the Great Neck North Varsity Girls basketball team, having replaced retired Assistant Coach, Roger Telsey. McKnight’s basketball experience as a player and coach made her an easy selection for the position. Growing up in Plainview, NY and, inspired by her parents, she played basketball starting from second grade through college, including at Saint Anthony’s High School and SUNY-New Paltz,
where she played shooting guard.

 

After college, McKnight decided to become a history teacher and basketball coach. For McKnight, coaching was a natural extension of her playing and teaching career. Coaching provided her with an outlet for her competitive nature while “teaching the fundamentals of the game to the youth”. McKnight has now coached for three years, first at Locust Valley High School and two years in Great Neck, first with South Middle School and now at North High School. Even more, outside of school, she trains players.

 

Head Coach Erik Connolly knew immediately she was the right person for the position; “she was extremely engaging in the interview. We spoke about basketball and sports well after her interview should have ended and I realized that she would challenge and inspire me to become
a better coach”.

 

With a varied mix of playing experience on the team, McKnight focuses on improvement at the individual and team level and a desire to create a competitive team. This focus was clear to both Connolly and the players. Connolly thought McKnight made a big contribution to player development and the team overall. She was “able to quickly assess the team’s needs and apply her skills appropriately”. Even more, “the players took almost immediately to her and felt
safe with her and respected and listened to her advice”. Connolly, himself, is looking forward to incorporating her ideas for offseason workouts in the coming months.

 

Players also benefited from her presence, experience, and insights. Emma Lavian, a Sophomore, and one of the six sophomores that form the core of the team’s immediate future “greatly appreciated” being coached by McKnight. According to Lavian, McKnight’s “strategic approach and constructive feedback contributed to the team’s overall growth. She always focused on bringing the energy up at practices and games and her constant support and encouragement motivated me to work harder and strive for success”.

 

Alexa Hizon, another Sophomore, said, “Mcknight made me a better player. She gave me a lot of great advice when it came to attacking the hoop and overcoming my fear of driving to the basket even when there are taller and stronger players in my way. She would always give me those little talks on the bench before I went in and we would watch and analyze the court and the game and see what I could do to help the team when I went in”. Hizon also said McKnight helped improve the team’s general attitude and approach. “She had many little quotes she
would say that stuck with the team and gave us a better game mentality whenever we didn’t have energy or confidence in ourselves. She’s a coach who would get us out of our own heads and push us to be the best we can in the game and that’s why we always come around second half of the game after the talk in the locker room at half. The team is very grateful to have McKnight as an assistant coach and mentor”.

 

What excites McKnight most is the young nucleus of the this team and the potential for it to grow into a competitive team. While the team didn’t win a game this season, “we definitely improved throughout the season, we had a stronger second half of the season. We learned how to work better together, took the game seriously and desired to be in a competitive environment”. McKnight hopes the improved performance in the second half of the season and the close final game of the season motivates the players “stay in shape, work on their
game and play together at least twice per week to increase team chemistry and get ready for November”.