Every sports program has it’s ebbs and flows, high points and lows. Times of behind the scenes hard work being put in where no one else notices. Often followed by times of public victory, recognition and praise.
There is also a specific sentiment, a feeling to every program. Something you notice being inside gym and around the team. Something that stands out watching the players interact with each other and with their coaches, on and off the court.
When Will Slinkosky was tapped as the William Floyd varsity boys basketball program in 2021-2022. With a new ship captain, there was some new waters to head towards. There was some new things to be implemented or old things to be re-instated. “When we took over we implemented a family setting and the family is working together for a common goal,” said Slinkosky. The young coach realized that the family unit all clothed in green and white had to to be a knitted close together. The wins would follow.
Second was the structure of the family. Floyd players must exemplify discipline, dedication, a behavioral standard in school and present themselves well. Punctuality is important as is accountability and respect for themselves and peers. “We have a we before me policy, as well as an open door family feeling. The kids can ask us questions they may have and we do our best to answer them or get the resources to do so.” A two way dialogue between coaches and players is important within this family.
The last, but certainly not least, is the main ingredient that holds the rest together. Love that forms a trust. “This program is based off family principals and one of them is love. We tell the kids we love them because we do. As if they were our own children,” said Slinkosky.
William Floyd basketball, which had seen some real glory days under renown coach Bob Hodgson Sr. Hit a low a few years after Hodgson’s sudden passing with some instability within the program. Becoming a team that opposing teams would look on the schedule as an automatic win. Slinkosky and his hard working assistants set out to change that. Attempting to resurrect the name on the front their jersey that once held weight and reverence in every gym in Suffolk County. Five years later, teams now see Floyd on their schedule and prepare for a dog fight to the final buzzer.
Since picking up the Colonials clipboard, the results can simply speak for themselves. The first season of 2021-2022, Floyd started to compete, win games and the home gym slowly came back alive with excited fans. By playoff time the boys in green and white had people talking about them again. Starting with the fact that they made the playoff bracket for the first time in years. They were no longer a team to sneer at on the schedule. Floyd was for real.
In the first 5 seasons with Coach “Slink” at the helm, the Colonials have a 61-9 league record and 87-24 overall record. They have completely dominated Suffolk County’s League One, winning four league championships and posting a 53 game winning streak in league play. Both of these feats are now carved into the record books at Floyd. The Colonials have posted an undefeated season ( 20-0). Have appeared in the playoffs each of the past five years and this past year appeared as the overall one seed in the county. Still fighting for, and with eyes on, the first county title since 2012.
Eleven of his players over the past five seasons have been recruited to play college basketball, with five of them actively playing at the next level. Three players from this graduating class are currently being recruited by college coaches. Slinkosky couldn’t be more proud of each individual player, young men who are set to succeed on and off the court.
“Our family at Floyd has something to play for, something that drives us beyond ourselves and beyond the sport. We lost a major part of our family along the journey of the past few years, Coach Darrell Sumpter. We are playing and succeeding with him and his tremendous dedication to this school always in mind.”
