The Independent – Feb. 5, 2015
By William Geoghegan
The point guard slashed to the basket again and again Friday night. On the opposition’s bench, the assistant coach wasn’t surprised.
“At the beginning of the season, she wasn’t driving to the basket,” he said. “She thought she was a 3-point shooter. Of the 17 points tonight, I don’t think one was a jump shot. ”
Most assistant coaches don’t know so much about opposing point guards.
For Andrew and Molly Feid, it comes with the territory.
Andrew is a first-year assistant with the South Kingstown girls basketball team. His younger sister Molly is a senior point guard for North Kingstown. The rival teams – and the sibling rivals – have gone against each other three times this season, with Molly and the Skippers winning all of them. The latest was a three-point victory Friday. Molly scored a game-high 17 points. Andrew’s squad played a solid game. Their mom, Judi, was just glad it was over.
“It was kind of weird at first, but I think it’s fun,” Molly said. “Whatever happens happens. We can have fun with it whether we win or they win. I like it. It’s something different.”
Before this hoops season, basketball was just a common interest – pick-up games in the driveway, college and professional games on TV. Andrew grew up playing for North Kingstown recreation department teams and started coaching a youth team a few years ago. Molly became a key player with the Skippers soon after joining the team, helping lead them to the state championship a year ago. She’s also an All-State field hockey player who may play that sport in college.
Andrew graduated from North Kingstown in 2012. He now attends the University of Rhode Island and still has the coaching bug. When the position opened at South Kingstown, he decided to give it a shot. He was hired as the junior varsity head coach and an assistant with the varsity squad.
“It’s worked out great,” he said. “It’s been fun.”
When he got the job, he and his sister immediately thought of the match-ups that lay ahead.
“The first thing I said was, ‘What are you going to tell them about me?’” Molly said. “He’s seen me grow up playing the sport so he knows what I can and can’t do. But I understood that he could tell them whatever he wanted to help his team win.”
The first meeting came in the championship game of the Centreville Bank Holiday Classic. The Rebels raced to an early lead, but the Skippers surged back and won by 11 points. Molly earned tournament MVP honors. Andrew was, of course, happy for his sister, but his loyalties were firmly with his own team.
“The first game, I wasn’t sure what it was going to be like, but it’s SK all the way,” Andrew said. “If we don’t do well, then I hope it’s NK that does.”
His sister shares the same feeling and praises her brother’s coaching ability.
“His basketball IQ is insane,” she said. “He knows so much.”
Molly scored six in a North Kingstown win when the teams met in league play for the first time. Then Friday, she led the charge in the hard-fought victory, helping quickly turn a halftime deficit into a lead with her defense. She finished the game with eight steals.
“I’ve seen all nine D-I teams and I think she’s the best defender in the state,” Andrew said. “They can put her on the opponent’s best player and she’ll shut her down.”
Being that opponent wasn’t ideal, but Molly didn’t rub it in.
“I’m laying low on this one,” she said. “It was a good game, so I really can’t say much. It could have gone either way.”
With no more match-ups scheduled in the regular season, Andrew and Molly can resume rooting for each other. The Rebels have a young team that seems to be closer to getting over the hump. The Skippers have won five games in a row as they try to defend their state title.
“Whenever I’m not at an SK game, I’m here watching their games,” Andrew said. “Our parents are really supportive. They come to both of our games as much as they can.”
And there’s still a chance that loyalties will be divided again. The teams could meet in the playoffs. If they do, the point guard will keep driving the lane. The assistant coach will help draw something up to stop her.
The sibling rivalry – reluctant, though it may be – will live on.
“With my luck, we’ll end up having a playoff game against them,” Andrew said.