By Anthony Nikolopoulos, staff writer.

For new head coach Mark Swasey of the women’s basketball team, this season is not a welcome to Franklin Pierce; it is a welcome back. After an opening for the head coaching position became available, Swasey knew this was an opportunity he could not pass up. The ability to coach again, at a school he enjoys, made it easy to take the job.

Swasey was the head coach of the team from the 2002-2003 season through the 2008-2009 season, which concluded in the program’s first Northeast-10 regular season and tournament titles, as well as back-to-back East Regional crowns and a trip to the 2009 national championship game. After that season, he went on to coach at California University of Pennsylvania for two-plus seasons. Following his tenure there, Swasey took some time off from coaching in order to spend time with his family.

During his time away from coaching, he was a high school athletic director for five years. While he was an athletic director, Swasey was always looking to get back into coaching, as he really missed it. The main thing for him was to find a job in the New Hampshire area because he did not want to move his family. Last summer, Franklin Pierce came calling, and offered a chance to return to the familiar Fieldhouse sidelines.

One of his first tasks was to get to know his players, both on and off the court. Swasey knows it is a difficult task to do quickly, but he worked hard to get to know everyone from the moment he took the job. He said, “It’s really just about spending time, not only in the gym working with them, but also taking the time to find just 10-15 minutes every few days, especially early on, to get to know the players on a one-on-one level well beyond basketball.''

After Swasey got to know his new players, one of his next tasks was to figure out the leadership roles on his team. The team captains this winter were Sophia Holmes and Hannah Everidge, but Swasey knows leadership can come from anyone on the roster. He said, “We really encourage and try to foster situations where players are given opportunities to step up and demonstrate leadership skills.”

Expectations for every coach are always different. For Swasey, it is not necessarily about wins and losses, but more so on the way his team plays every day. He said, “For us, the level of success to measure ourselves by is what level of energy and consistency are we bringing to the practice floor, and are we able to execute in games at a high level.” He feels the wins will come if they are able to be disciplined to the small things they can control, like their energy and consistency.

Although the record wasn’t quite where he had hoped, he was pleased to see the strides the team took this year. He said, “We were competitive in nearly all of our games and I was very proud of the cohesiveness and resiliency our team demonstrated throughout the year.”

Looking ahead to next season, the focus will be on the team playing a complete 40 minutes. Swasey said, “We are looking to improve our depth, team speed and perimeter games, so the off-season and the investment our returners will make on their individual strength, conditioning, speed and agility is crucial.”

Of course, basketball is a major part of Swasey’s life, but there is much more to him outside of the game. Some of his hobbies outside of basketball are the outdoors and physical activities. He said, “I love to hike, I try to stay in shape. I have taken up running over the last 10 years.” Also, although he claims he is a hacker on the golf course, he really enjoys golfing whenever he gets the chance to.

Swasey is very excited to be back at Franklin Pierce doing something he enjoys. Some of it may be familiar and some may not, but either way he is ready to lead the team back to NE10 prominence.