Domiano
Ben Domiano will put experience gained coaching young players since 1995 to use when he leads a high school basketball team for the first time.
Domiano is technically the new volunteer leader of the boys basketball program at Lackawanna Trail. That status was a temporary measure by the Lackawanna Trail School Board while activities were shut down during the coronavirus, but was agreed to with the understanding that Domiano will be hired as head coach when sports resume and/or there is more certainty that there will be an actual season for which to prepare.
With schools around District 2 of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association resuming voluntary, offseason workouts, Domiano’s upgrade to head coach of the team could come as early as the next week.
The former basketball, football and baseball player at Old Forge has remained active in coaching while running the optometry practice he owns in his hometown.
“I’m very excited for the opportunity,” said Domiano, who first got into coaching with the St. Mary’s of Old Forge boys in 1995, assisting current Old Forge girls head coach Ron Stacchiotti.
Domiano coaches AAU teams at Backcourt Hoops in Scranton, was a volunteer junior high assistant at Lackawanna Trail in 2019-20 and spends additional time training individual players.
“As a coach, I believe in focusing in on the little details of every single aspect of the game,” Domiano said.
Domiano takes over a team that was in title contention until the final day of the regular season, but has lost the bulk of a veteran squad to graduation.
“Knowing that Lackawanna Trail lost four seniors, three of which scored almost 89 percent of the total team points, I feel like there should be some pretty deep competition within the team every day,” Domiano said. “That’s what’s going to make us better as a team.”
Domiano has had a chance to advise his future players about offseason training and to communicate with them about what is ahead when they are cleared to work together.
“I coach with three basic phrases – play hard, play smart and play together,” he said. “If we do that, we’ll win games, we will lose games, but we will be a disciplined team and we will be respectable on the floor.”
The Lions finished 9-3 in the division and 14-10 overall under Lackawanna Trail graduate Christian Sunseri last season.
