Schruender new Saugus girls hoop coach

SAUGUS – Mark Schruender has been waiting for the opportunity to take over a varsity program from the moment he started coaching five years ago.He’s all set.And even better for him, he’ll be coaching in the community in which he teaches – Saugus. Schruender was appointed earlier this week as the new girls basketball coach at Saugus High, and now that he has the job, he can’t wait to get going.”I’m thrilled,” said the North Andover/Boston College graduate. “I met with the kids already, and I’m ready to go. But it’s going to be a long wait until December (when tryouts start).”He’s happy about the fact that incoming freshmen and sophomores will know him from his job of teaching math at the Belmonte Middle School. But he’s realistic. He knows there’s work to do. The appointment came so late that the team is not registered to play in a summer league.”However,” Schruender said, “I’ve encouraged them to do conditioning camps over the summer, and a lot of them play other sports, too, and they’re getting ready to do those. I have a pretty well-rounded group of athletes, and hopefully that’ll help prevent injuries. And it will keep them motivated.”If I could coach one place, it would be here (Saugus),” he said. “You develop a relationship with the kids, so I’m thrilled to be able to coach them when they get to high school.”He will, of course, be coaching Norma Waggett, who was an Item and Northeastern Conference all-star last season, and that’s something he’s looking forward to.”I’ve never seen her play,” he said, “but I’ve heard. She seems like a great kid. Another one who plays three different sports, so she’s a good athlete. She’s had some major accomplishments.”Schruender has coached as an assistant at Georgetown High, which means he’ll be familiar with the Cape Ann League when Saugus officially enters it this fall. The Sachems have been placed in the CAL/Large, which means that they’ll be playing traditional powers such as Pentucket and Masconomet twice each.”We’re going to have our hands full,” he said. “But it’ll also be good seeing familiar faces. I grew up playing in that league.”Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].