SAUGUS — This winter, Joe Bertrand will embark on his first season as the full-time head coach of the Saugus boys basketball team.
The new head coach is a Saugus alum, where he was a 1,000-point scorer and a team captain.
Bertrand is also a graduate of Norwich University, where he continued his playing career.
In addition to his Saugus program experience, Bertrand also served as a varsity assistant and AAU coach in Vermont prior to returning to Massachusetts.
Bertrand was a co-head coach of the program last season after the tragic passing of his father, Mark, in December of 2020. Mark graduated from Saugus High in 1982. He returned to the Saugus program in 2008 as the coach of the freshman team. He also coached the junior varsity team before joining the varsity staff as an assistant. Overall, Mark spent 10 years on the staff before being named head coach.
The Sachems, with Bertrand and co-head coach Bill Cahill leading the way, finished the shortened 2020-21 season with a 4-9 record. A quick lesson that Bertrand learned last season was to be patient, as the basketball season is a long one.
“You’ve got to take it day by day,” he said. “You’re not going to have everything you want on the first day. It’s going to take time and it’s going to take a lot of hard work.”
Bertrand also added that he learned how to deal with the highs and lows that come with the basketball season and staying focused on the present.
Now that he is the full-time head coach, Bertrand will be bringing the power of positivity to the Saugus bench.
“We are going to be a team that is really positive,” the head coach said. “I really believe in the power of positivity, so we are just going to try and be as positive as possible. We are not going to get down no matter how stressful (the situation), we are just going to be positive. Positive team, positive bench, positive on the court and hope that good things happen.”
Bertrand also added that he is excited for the start of the season to arrive.
“We bring back a good chunk of guys and had a lot of guys put in hard work in the offseason which is really exciting,” Bertrand said. “I can see the commitment out of this team and I can’t wait to see them out on the floor this year because they worked hard and they put in the time. I’m ready to see it pay off for them.”
