There was a New Agenda this year at Manchester High School. In the past 4 years Coach Beauchemin has been building something. His Agenda was simple, lay out the plan, follow it and let the chips fall where they may. This past weekend the biggest Chip in girls basketball resides in MANCHESTER’S. THE SHORE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT CAMPIONSHIP.

THE BEGINNING

Dave Beauchemin STARTED something from the ground floor

There years ago Dave Beauchemin thought he had a special group. Manchester was rolling though Ocean County. There was a thought the group could make big noise in the SCT and In the State Tournament. Anissa Fucci and Lyric Green were senior studs and two of the best players in the Shore. They had  the Adams sisters, Deja and then baby Dakota.

I remember the game vs. RBC in the WOBM. They were undefeated going into the game. I remember a college coach texting me to say “RBC could be in trouble“. It was MANCHESTER’s first time on a big stage vs a powerhouse program. The were tight early and got down big early, RBC won running away. But MANCHESTER grew as a program that day. They went 0n a massive winning streak of 10 games. They were not beating teams they were destroying them.  Manchester was hoping for another shot at the big time. That was until January 26th 2016 when on the same day in the same game….Both Deja and Dakota tore their ACL’s,  it was act of cruelty beyond belief on the Adams family and the Manchester program. Dave Beauchemin had has to reboot his program.

THE SHOT…

Here’s the video of the single handedly greatest moment in Manchester Township Hawks athletic history pic.twitter.com/JYsfKnrUAK

— Manchester Maniacs (@MtownManiacs) March 7, 2017

The following year Manchester was not expected to do much. They had lost there two stars Lyric and Green. The Adams sister were returning from ACL injuries. Donavan Catholic, ruled B South once again. It appeared they’d have a cake walk. But enter a baby a rare baby,  KERMARI REYNOLDS. She was something rarely seen in Ocean or Monmouth County. She was gifted beyond her years. She could pass, score and mostly lead. She was dominant at times. She gave Manchester an elite player. She gave them a player that could carry a team. That’s exactly what she did all year, KERMARI was named the freshman of the year. Manchester also  won B SOUTH and then made history. It was Deja who was the first Adams sister who made the biggest mark in the programs history. It was her shot at the buzzer vs Middle Twp. the gave MANCHESTER  THE SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 2 sectional Title…It’s first state title in school history. It was the biggest shot in Manchester history….even to this day.

THE CHANGE…

Last Year Destiny Adams walked on to the Manchester campus. Nothing has been the same since. She is prehaps the most talented player we had seen in decades. But having talent is on thing, being great is another. Destiny Adams has been great, since her high school debut. She had 28 points and 15 rebounds on that day. While Kemari Reynolds had 25 points and 6 dimes. It was the start of something big. It was a start to what just might be. Destiny Adams was the Freshman of the Year.  It was the 2nd year in a row, a Manchester player had won the award. She became a household name thoughtout the state. Serenity Anderson started to come into her own. She was becoming a star in her own right. Dakota Adams was named to the All Shore team. She was the leader and backbone of the team. Nahkaleigh Hayes- Jones, stepped up and became the team’s  designated shooter. Morgan Brustman became the ultimate teammate and reliable freshman. The  The pieces were coming into place. Manchester won the WOBM won its first WOBM and Destiny Adams became the 1st freshman to win MVP of the event. Manchester also won its 2nd consecutive Group 2 sectional state title. But Manchester was in search of a program win still, they still were not ready for the next step.  They lost to the State Champ and SCT Champ Manasquan, in the Group 2 state Final…but something was brewing.

THE ANGENDA

https://twitter.com/CoachTinyGreen/status/1100110193214611457

This summer Leilani CORREA decided to return home. She had committed to West Virginia and now wanted to come home. To play with her friends. To play in the best conference on planet earth. To try and win the hardest Championship in girls basketball…the SCT. So Leilani enrolled at Manchester high school. The 1st Team All State player’s arrival changed everything. It gave Manchester a new Agenda.

Dennis Adams is the principle at Manchester high school. He also is a basketball coach. A damm good coach. In fact one of the best around. He started and built the New Jersey Warriors AAU program. It’s the main reason why Manchester is turning out talent like no other County these days. It was also he  who changed the Manchester  summer Agenda. In the summer he Coached most of the Manchester players. He got them to train, play and play as often as possible. Then Manchester played on the best competition he could find. He played St. Rose and SJV in no boys allowed. He played in the Hoop Group fall league. He wanted competition and wanted the team to get use to playing with Leilani CORREA. He also wanted his team to shake off the myth of playing  iconic programs. Then Dennis Adams and Dave Beauchemin did something no Ocean County team has ever done. They upgraded the Manchester’s schedule. They scheduled  only the best non conference games. They played a killer schedule, Saddle Day River,  Gloucester Catholic, LUHI and had Franklin which got snowed out.  Manchester was all in.

THE NOISE

When Manchester lost to Saddle Day they  heard the noise. There not good enough, not ready for prime time, not mentally tough enough. The coach didn’t know how to coach talent. It was all there to rattle Manchester. It was all there for KERMARI REYNOLDS to say, forget these  sacrifices. She had given up more of her game than anyone. Dakota Adams was a senior, why not finally steal a few headlines what’s the point? Serenity Anderson was ready to be a big scorer this year. This was suppose to be her breakout season. Maybe now was the time to show what she could do. Destiny Adams could lead the state in scoring, why not do it? Finally Leilani Correa must have been thinking what have I done? They all could have had these selfish thoughts. Instead they  stuck together. They didn’t listen to the noise, instead they  listened to there brilliant young coach. It why in the Coaches Choice NY/NJ challenge they beat National power LUHI. It was there truly first big program win. It also showed them, they can play with anyone.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

DAVE BEAUCHEMIN had maybe the toughest job in the Shore this year. He had to play in a less talented division than his talent dictated . He was  criticize for running up scores. This was clearly not true. But it still had to hurt, hearing such lies.  He made the decision not use his bench in most big games. He knew his best chance to win those games was to play five…he was RIGHT. He beat St. Rose with his 5 iron women. They said his team would need 5 balls. They were wrong because  nobody has ever done a better job at managing ego’s on such a talented team.. But what had to hurt most, was those questions about his coaching. He was the designer, the person who built the Manchester program, it was not given to him on silver plater. He  had bad luck with injuries. He has had to do three rebuilding jobs in the middle of 3 seasons. Three ACL’s injuries in the middle of  three different dreams seasons. He never made excuses. he just went back to work each time and reinvented himself and his team. So let’s talk facts, the best coach in the SCT this year was Dave Beauchemin. He put everyone on there heels. He just didn’t beat teams, he dominated them on the court and on the sidelines. His team won EVERY SHORE GAME BY DOUBLE FIGURES THIS YEAR. …DAVE BEAUCHEMIN is a SCT Championship Coach and now has real star power…because he knew his team BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE!

The SCT started with everyone talking about who could beat SJV. Maybe Manasquan or St. Rose. Nobody thought Manchester had a chance. Not enough experience, no bench and a coach over his head. But here is what people didn’t know, Manchester had experienced everything in the past 4 years. The knew all about  pain, bad luck and sacrifice. They’ve been knocked down, kicked around and doubted but always got up.  They faced adversity and always survived to fight another day. People forgot benches cheer, work hard in practice and give a team chemistry. People just didn’t know the history of the Manchester program.

THE EXPLANATION

Manchester didn’t win the SCT last night. They won it three years ago on January 26th when the Adams sister went down and then fought back. They won it when KERMARI Reynolds let Destiny Adams shine as a freshman. They won it when Destiny did the same for Leilani Correa this year. They won it when Nahkaleigh Jones…AKA TWETTY! came off the bench and buried a BIG three in the SCT final. She started and played major minutes last year and her role changed this year. Yet she was ready on Saturday. They won it when Serenity Anderson was dominant vs St. Rose and embraced her new role all year. They won it when Dakota Adams got up every morning at 6am to work on her jumper…she made SJV pay for all her work with the biggest shot of the night on Saturday . They won when Morgan Brustman jumped up and down as if she made the winning basket Saturday. They won when Amyah Bray dad had a heart attack, last week and he survived to see her win the SCT . Manchester had an Agenda….STICK TOGETHER. Now they are SHORE CONFERENCE CHAMPS.