Basketball getting fresh look at Meade

Meade's boys basketball program will have a fresh, youthful feel on the sidelines next season.

"I'm very appreciative for the school, Dave Lanham and (principal Daryl) Kennedy for entrusting the program with me," Corriero said. "I'm excited to be part of the coaching fraternity in the county."

Corriero, a first-year physical education teacher at Meade, is no stranger to the county coaching scene. Five years ago, when he was a junior at the University of Maryland, he was an assistant coach at St. Mary's under Josh Pratt. He stayed on as an assistant when Brian Konik took over as head coach in the 2005-2006 season.

"He's a tremendously driven coach," Konik said. "He really has a desire to win at everything he does. Being a varsity basketball coach is something he's wanted for a long time, and he's done everything he could to be successful when he got his opportunity."

When Lanham was the athletic director at St. Mary's, he hired Corriero as an assistant.

"I interviewed him four years ago for an assistant position, and he caught me off guard as someone who's going to work hard and be determined to succeed," Lanham said. "He's broadened his coaching horizons since then. He's been in multiple situations with different dynamics, from an elite private school to a Prince George's County public school.'

At age 23, Corriero left St. Mary's to be junior varsity head coach and a varsity assistant at Gwynn Park for former Archbishop Spalding coach Mike Glick in 2008. The Yellow Jackets won the Class 2A South Region that season.

He returned to St. Mary's as junior varsity head coach and varsity assistant this year, and he was on the sidelines when Saints guard Nick Groce beat the buzzer to win the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference championship game against St. Vincent Pallotti.

The Saints defeated five public school county teams this past season, including a 60-54 win over Meade on Dec. 22.

"He's been on the staff of coaches who have won a lot of games," Konik said. "Although each head coach he's been with has different styles and philosophies, it's given him a lot of different varied experiences. It'll be interesting to see how he melds together the experience."

Corriero has also coached varsity teams in summer leagues and has run the offseason strength and conditioning programs.

"I definitely want an immediate turnaround in our program," Lanham said. "It falls in line with what we're trying to do at Meade, to get our kids involved more with offseason training and to take more advantage of the weight room."

Corriero, a Plainfield, N.J., native and Odenton resident, majored in kinesiology at Maryland and brings a new approach to the Meade sidelines, including a devotion to getting his players into college.

"It's a fresh start, and we're going in a new direction," Corriero said. "Meade always has talent. I've never been happier in a teaching envrionment. I want to reach out to everyone in the school to come out and show us what they can do on the basketball court."

The age factor doesn't bother Lanham, who also announced the rehiring of Bobby Freedenburg as the coach for girls basketball.

"That doesn't scare me at all," Lanham said. "It's a positive more than a negative.'