Les Berry’s eyes light up as soon as the discussion turns to the talent and athleticism he has at his fingertips.
As the new head coach of the Halifax Rainmen, he can draw up above-the-rim plays he never dreamed of during his days running university clubs at Acadia and Brandon.
His head is spinning with the possibilities, and he said his Rainmen “have a ton of work to do” on the offensive side after beating the Vermont Frost Heaves for the first time ever on Sunday, despite only four days of practice with him.
“There’s going to be lots more put into the offence,” Berry said. “I want to utilize the certain skills guys have, so I can put them in positions that they can be successful offensively so we can be successful. That’s my job as coach.”
Whether it was carefully constructed by Berry or just his group of talented athletes freelancing, there were plenty of high-flying plays on Sunday that had the crowd gasping.
Berry describes the Rainmen’s offence as “not so stagnant” as it was before he arrived but says improved consistency at both ends of the floor will be a key going forward.
He said he needs another 30 practices — basically until the playoffs — “to be consistent in what we do.”
“One game doesn’t make a season,” he cautioned. “I want to get back to practice and work on specific things that will make us better for the stretches we didn’t look so good.”
The Rainmen (7-5) play home games Friday against the Detroit Panthers and Sunday against the Quebec Kebs.
