Noah Ruston is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Scottsdale Prep Academy forAZPreps365.com

 

Attitude, effort, and communication. Those are the three points of emphasis rookie head coach Jeff Slump has been preaching to his players since he stepped on campus.

Scottsdale Prep Academy is off to an impressive 7-3 start, winning its last four games with a combined score of 225-132. The defensive-minded unit has embraced Slump’s identity, and now the program is starting to see the results. 

“I give my players the credit,” said Slump. “They have bought in. Honestly it’s them, and the truth to that is we are giving them the opportunity to be reliable and we let them know that.”

 

The coach was a former collegiate player and a long-time assistant coach at Notre Dame Prep before getting his first opportunity as head coach. Looking back on his past playing and coaching experience, Slump realized that the most accomplished players he had been around handled attitude, effort and communication extremely well. 

 

“It is something that I have always thought about,” said Slump. “I think everyone kind of understands the attitude and effort thing, but I really think communication is a huge deal.” 

 

He acknowledged that most students are not  confident in themselves and their ability quite yet, so he uses different strategies to force communication upon his team. One is encouraging a new player to give a pre-game speech before the team hits the court every game.

 

“I think it builds confidence, where then they are not afraid to come to the coaches and be honest,” said Slump.

 

The players speak highly of their new coach.

 

“I think coach Slump is a great leader for our team,” said senior guard Sam Hurley.

 

At a tough game in Sedona, the coach taught him a valuable lesson. 

 

“Everything won’t always go your way, but it’s learning how to fight through it that's most important,” said Hurley.

 

After their last loss, giving up 61 points to Glendale Prep, the Spartans began to rebuild. Scottsdale Prep has since rattled off four straight wins and are ranked No. 2 in its division, due to their play on the defensive end. 

 

“In the games in which we have started off slow and lost, we have come out super flat on defense,” said team captain Sam Spivey. 

 

At the end of every game, the team gets together to go over its performance. Slump awards one player with the “game ball” based on their defensive play and their attitude, effort, and communication throughout the game.

 

“It doesn’t take a natural ability to be good at those three things,” said Spivey. “ I think, regardless of who you are and how good you are, the effort, attitude, and communication aspect of our team is just an awesome thing.”