By B.J. Bennett
 
Katie Novak-Lenoir brings over 100 career head coaching wins to her debut season at the College of Coastal Georgia. Coming to Brunswick from Mary-Hardin Baylor and, previously, having led programs at Hawaii-Pacific and Sul Ross State, Novak-Lenoir has a proven track record of success and an established framework for how to achieve it. This is a process, of making the most of her opportunities, she has gone through as a head coach and a player. Novak-Lenoir captained both of her teams during her playing days, St. Joseph's College and Division I Incarnate Word. Novak-Lenoir, as fall practice officially begins for the Mariners, is laying the foundation for more of the same.   
 
The start of a new era means that the start of a new pre-season comes with a focus on the fundamentals. Novak-Lenoir is establishing her points of emphasis and priorities on a day-by-day basis. With seven talented returnees, along with three accomplished transfers and four exciting freshman, Coastal Georgia is working towards cohesion in camp. That process is well underway.   
 
"Before even getting into concepts and style of play, we're looking at style of work and pace of practice and pace of what we're doing," Novak-Lenoir explained. "Just establishing good practice habits and getting them to understand the expectation of what we're looking for."
 
Early practices are coming with a very deliberate approach. With a new coaching staff and some roster turnover, the reset button means that rotations are yet to fully be determined. There are chances for everyone to make an impact all over the floor and earn the playing time every competitor craves. The next few weeks will go a long way towards determining what the first season for Novak-Lenoir with the Mariners will look like. Work done now will help win games later.
 
Three players return who averaged double figures last season in seniors Taylor Blackshear and Niya Moon and junior Alli Stone, with junior Hadiya Kennerly, a fourth, not far behind. Peyton Shafer and Amanda Roach, a pair of two more seniors, and sophomore Hannah Golden, were also rotation regulars a season ago. Transfers Natalia Silva, Elina Briede and Zoe Ulrich, join redshirt freshmen Kennedi Benton, Skyler Brady and Rya Gongwer, and true freshman Inga Patrzalek complete Novak-Lenoir's first Coastal Georgia roster.  
 
"There's so many new people that there's a little bit of maybe timidness, kind of looking for who is going to step up and lead, even just amongst the team. They're eager and they're ready to work. I just want to make sure that they're not putting any limits on themselves and what they could do," the first-year coach of the Mariners continued. "And I think that's going to be a big thing with us this year."
 
Through early evaluations, Novak-Lenoir will be looking for players who practice with a purpose. As Coastal Georgia works towards a common goal, they must do so with a collective mindset. Novak-Lenoir is looking for leadership. And a roster with eight upperclassmen appears ready to provide it. The Mariners are excited for the possibilities that await, with every player eager to show Novak-Lenoir and assistant coach Cortney Sawyer what they can bring to this new roster.  
 
"Toughness, how they are as a teammate and how they are responding to this new direction," Novak-Lenoir added. "The quicker that they are adaptable, the better it's going to be. We're also doing a lot of running right now because it's still early and we're not in the kind of shape we need to be in yet. That's going to be a challenge for a little bit, nothing abnormal, but I'm looking for people to take the challenge head on."
 
Every practice, for new-look Coastal Georgia, is a chance to get better. Returnees and newcomers alike are on the same page; putting in the work needed for the Mariners to reach their full potential.
 
"The mindset of the team is to just get 1% better each day. We're coming with a new team, we're just trying to get a feel for each other. Having a new coaching staff and a new system, we're just trying to get it together and achieve the goals we couldn't achieve last year," Moon detailed. "We've been doing a lot of team-bonding outside of basketball, which I think helps a lot. We're trying to include everybody and just build that chemistry on and off the court so that it's just easy for us."