The Corner, Featuring Will Harriman

Player Name: Will Harriman

Year in School: Junior

Sport: Basketball

Name of School: Biddeford High School

Brief bio/summary from coach about player:

Will Harriman will be a Junior for the 2019-2020 school year.  Will averaged a few minutes per game at the varsity level last season, and the lead scorer for the JV team as a sophomore.  Will is known for being a sharpshooter. This offseason, Will has added quickness and strength, and the ability to finish with both hands.  Will has been scoring in three ways, shooting, offensive putbacks, and driving to the rim. Will is a team first player who always looks out for the best interest of the team before himself.  Will’s greatest leadership skill is his ability to lead by example in every drill and every game.

What has helped you develop the leadership mindset you have today? 

What has helped me develop the leadership mindset I have today, is mostly “Next Play” and also my humble attitude. Having a Next Play mindset is very important to have as an athlete and in life. If something doesn’t go your way, you have to move on from it because it’s over with and you can’t go back and fix it. If you harp on the mistake or missed shot, then emotion will start to come out and you don’t want to show emotion on the Court/Field/etc.

How do you think improving as a leader has helped you become a better athlete/player?

Improving as a leader has helped me become a better athlete/player because it has helped me gain a lot more confidence and trust from my teammates.  When I wasn’t confident, I didn’t really take a lot of shots and I wasn’t really active. Since I’m more confident now, I’m not afraid to make mistakes and take more shots, and I’m a lot more active on the court now. And since my teammates trust me, they give me the looks and opportunities for those shots.

How do you think improving as a leader has helped your team?  

Since gaining trust from my team, me improving as a leader has helped the team because when they see me working hard they will match the same effort, they will crash on every shot and play very intense defense. And the team needs that energy to win and succeed. When they see me making shots and crashing the offensive boards they will feed off of that, and they will hit their shots as well, it will bring momentum to our side and give us a better chance to win.

Was there a moment where you recall “turning the corner” and realizing you had to take the next step as a leader? 

Yes, there was a moment, this past year in varsity baseball, I was supposed to be one of our relief pitchers. I probably wasn’t going to pitch much, but then one of players got injured. I stepped up and became one of our starting pitchers. Not only a starting pitcher, I became our #1 pitcher on the team that year, and I pitched in our preliminary game and got the win, and we advanced to the first round of the playoffs.

What do you different now that you may not have done in the past as a leader? 

I always pick teammates up after a missed shot or a mistake. It keep their confidence boosted and it makes sure that they don’t get down on themselves. We don’t need players getting down on them selves, it’s not good for the player or the team.

I hardly ever take a play off either. I do other things that impact the game. This is important because a steal is just as valuable as two points, because since you got that steal that’s points that the other team can’t score anymore. Rebounds are also very important because a rebound can decide the game, if you don’t get the defensive board then the other team can get an easy 2 two points, and those two points can come back to haunt you in the end all because you didn’t check out your guy. All in all if your having an off day shooting, there’s always other things you can do to help the team.(rebounding, intense defense, steals, etc)

Parent or teammate statements about player’s leadership growth:

“Will came into the program a shy and nervous kid who maybe didn’t know where he would fit in on the team and now watching his progress this summer has been impressive. He has also built new friendships throughout the team and has been playing incredibly well. He also seems much more comfortable on and off the court with how he plays and carries himself. And this will carry into this upcoming season because he’s going to be one fantastic player to watch.” ~Senior teammate – Kurtis Edgerton

Coach statement on player’s leadership growth:

Will was a varsity player last winter who was reserved around the team and played a few minutes here or there.  He mainly swung to JV. Now, as we end our summer basketball season, Will is one of our best players and will be a top scoring threat for the upcoming 2019-2020 season.

Now after a successful off-season of training in the gym by himself and gaining confidence from a successful baseball season on varsity, Will has elevated his game and is leading by example.  His teammates are noticing. Will always put full effort and energy into every practice drill and game no matter how many minutes he was getting. His thirst for doing things the right way, is why he has progressed so much this off-season.

Will has been by far our best player this summer.  He is aggressive driving to the rim and attacking the glass on both ends.  His energy and confidence is being used by his teammates to raise their game.  Leaders first must lead by example to earn the respect to speak, Will is doing that and laying the foundation for our winter season.  Will has been communicating to teammates to remind them to play “next play” and has been our most consistent player this season.

His teammates have told me how impressed they have been by Will who will be our leader by example and most consistent player next year. ~Coach Justin Tardif

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