There are some things about sports that never change.
Modern sports often look nothing like their predecessors, and nowhere is this more evident than basketball. But, says Marblehead High alumni Patrick Bugler, fundamentals are the same now as they were back in the set-shot era.
“The game of basketball has definitely changed,” said Bugler, who was captain of the Salem State basketball team in 2021-2022. “But one thing that never changes are fundamentals. You still have to know them.”
Toward that end, Bugler’s All-Star Clinic will take place at Marblehead High over two weeks later this month. It will put together two elements: fun and fundamentals.
“Each session lasts four hours,” said Bugler. “The first hour is skills development. Fundamentals. I like to think that separates me from some of the others. I’m big on things like footwork, ball handling and things like that.
“The remaining time is for fun basketball activities,” he said. “Scrimaging, and other stuff. So that combines people who are serious about learning the game, and people who want to have fun. I think it’s a good mix for kids who want to take their game to the next level.”
Bugler’s clinic will focus on boys and girls entering the fifth through ninth grades. The first week, July 22-26, will be for boys, while the second week, July 29-Aug. 2, will be for both boys and girls. Each session goes from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This is Bugler’s third year running the clinic. He says he’s played for a number of very influential coaches in his life, including Mike Giardi, his high school coach; Chris Timson and Chris Harvey of Salem State.
“I’ve taken something from all of them,”Bugler said.
Something else happened that shaped Bugler’s desire to be a coach: injuries. He tore the labrum in his hip while playing in the Agganis All-Star Boys Basketball Game in 2017. He tried to play through it his freshman year at Clark University in Worcester, but ended up injuring the other hip as well.
“So,” he said, “I had to red-shirt myself my sophomore season. It was hard. But I sat on the bench, and I saw a lot of things I wouldn’t have seen while I was playing. And that’s the first indication I had that I’d like to coach.”
He ended up helping Giardi as an assistant during COVID “because they had a season and we didn’t.” He liked it so much he remained with Giardi for three years after he graduated from Salem before taking a job as a full-time assistant at Eastern Nazarene this past season (the college is closing, so at the moment, Bugler’s future is in flux.).
After his sophomore season, Bugler transferred to Salem, was elected captain, but had to sit out his final season because he re-injured his hip.
“It was hard having to sit,” he said. “But I did a lot of rehabbing through weights and physical therapy, and I’m in pretty good shape now. I play once or twice a week in men’s leagues.
“Once the game gets into your system,” he said, “It never leaves you.”