Molly Waitt Adds Energy Boost To Medford High Girls Basketball

MEDFORD, MA — When Molly Waitt met with many of her Medford High School girls basketball players for the first time Wednesday as the school's new varsity head coach, she said they told her how excited they were at the possibility of playing together in a league outside of school this summer. That fueled Waitt's determination to get researching right away and make it happen in the program she was named to guide this week.

"I woke up this morning and started scrambling to find one for them," she said Thursday afternoon. "I think it's important to play all year round. Summer is a great time of year to work on your game."

Rebuilding the Medford program with a connection from the youth teams, to offseason opportunities, to the high school varsity level is part of what Waitt is looking forward to most in her first high school coaching post. The 26-year-old's eagerness to begin that process is part of why Medford athletic director Bob Maloney is happy to have the Melrose teacher and former Austin Prep standout player on board.

"She really interviewed well with her energy and enthusiasm," Maloney said. "She played the game in high school. She played the game in college. She knows the AAU (club basketball) circuit and presented a great five-year plan for the program to get into the middle schools and do what you have to do as a younger coach to build a program up."

Maloney said Waitt was chosen out of a field of field of three finalists – including incumbent coach Leo Burke – after the school decided to open the position to new applicants following this past season.

Waitt was a team captain, member of the Student-Advisory Council and three-time conference All-Academic selection at Westfield State. She received her master's degree at Merrimack University and is a teacher in the Melrose School District.

"Now that I am finished school, and will have some extra time, I wanted to put that to good use coaching at a higher level," said Waitt, who has coached elementary-level players at St. Mary's in Melrose. "I’ve been told this is a growing year at Medford so that seems like a great time to begin with the program. They didn't have the best year last year, but that doesn't mean that next year isn’t going to be a good year."

Waitt said she is looking forward to becoming "part of the community" through promoting interaction between the high school coaches and players and those at the younger levels in the city.

"It's important for the elementary students and the youth payers to know who the high school coach is," Maloney said. "They are not all going to come here and play at the high school. But the younger players should know when they walk into the gym that’s the high school coach. There's been a disconnect there in the past. But that's something that our coach, John Skerry, has done a great job with on the boys side."

Waitt said her time conducting clinics and fundraisers at Westfield State showed her the important of community outreach in cultivating interest in a program.

"You want the young girls to want to grow up and be a part of your team," she said.