With a new season for the boys basketball team comes a new head coach, Matt Keating, a staple of the local program for more than a decade.

While this will be Keating’s first year at the helm of the local team, he’s been involved with Falcons basketball since the turn of the century. He started out as a player his freshman year of high school in 2000 and played all four years. In 2004 he began coaching and, while attending ASU, volunteered with the program during its run through three state championships.

Out of school, Keating returned to Fountain Hills to take up a job teaching and continue his work with the boys basketball team, most recently coaching the JV squad.

Having a strong familiarity with the team, Keating said there was no downtime necessary for he and the players to get acquainted with one another.

“I would say that my focus is on effort on both ends of the court,” Keating said.

“To that end, we approach each practice to see how we can maximize that effort. In terms of working with the athletes, it is important to be open with what we are looking to do. The more they understand the decisions that are being made, the more likely they are to buy in.”

As the JV head coach, Keating worked closely with the varsity program, too, saying that last year’s squad was one with “grit.”

“They worked very hard day in and day out, and made a deep run in the state tournament that I believe shocked a few people,” he added.

“We were not surprised, though. We had seen how much work the guys had put in throughout the season and knew it would pay off come tournament time.”

When it comes to the 2013-14 roster, Keating says his bench has a lot of depth, as last year’s team was on the young side.

“Many of our returning varsity players were playing as sophomores last year,” Keating said.

“That experience is invaluable. The team this year plays fast and confident. I think this stems from the number of years that they have been working together. It’s fun to watch.”

This year’s varsity squad sports 14 athletes, including five seniors and a whopping nine juniors. Two of the senior ranks are new to the program, but every single one of those juniors played for the Falcons last season.

With so many athletes already familiar with the program, Keating said that has allowed him to get straight to working on several key areas in practices, including keeping a fast tempo on the court.

“We want to dictate the speed of the game at all times,” Keating said.

“That has been a main focal point in what we are emphasizing with the guys.”

Keating said the team is already showing off some of its strengths, too, with shooting being primary among them.

“We have been shooting at an amazing level,” he added.

“The guys have been playing unselfish basketball, finding the open man, and their teammates are rewarding them by knocking down the shots.”

With a boatload of experience on their side, solid shooting and a focus on control, Keating said that the team began the season talking about their personal and group goals, with each athlete stating that their team goal was to take the state crown.

“We have a tradition of success in Fountain Hills that these athletes have been brought up in,” Keating said.

“They understand the difficulty of reaching their ultimate goal and are putting in work every day to obtain it.”

Keating said that the team’s depth will allow him to freely move players into the game depending on the situation, opening up a lot of options for the coaching staff along the way. In the end, he said it should make for some entertaining basketball over the course of the next several months.

“We plan on playing an exciting brand of basketball,” Keating said.

“Combine that with the tradition of success that we are building at FHHS, and I think it is going to be a lot of fun to watch us play.

“We have always been so amazed by the support we receive from the town and are looking to continue that again this year.”