Berkley putting in offseason work under new head coach James McCulloh

BIRMINGHAM Effort and toughness was a big part of the message to Berkley boys hoopers Friday.Without any Bears players who played varsity ball last season, they fell behind to Detroit Communication and Media Arts at the DC Elite Summer league at Groves High School that evening.

And though they didnt come out on top, the emphasis from first-year head coach James McCulloh was that when the team got gritty in the second half, they played even with, if not better than the Pharaohs.Weve just got to go out there and play as hard as we can for as long as we can, said Parker Rost, who played JV last year and will be a junior next season.

Weve got to just keep fighting even though were tired.Rost said that McCulloh is injecting energy and inspiring the Bears to play hard this summer as many players have been scattered throughout this offseason with baseball and soccer, but the vibes have been good.

Related ArticlesWinning equals getting washed up for DC Elite Summer League champsHundreds of kids turn out for Lions WR Jameson Williams youth football camp at ND PrepPhotos from Lions WR Jameson Williams youth football camp hosted by Pontiac Notre Dame PrepFord trio, coach among locals set to feature in Tuesdays MHSSCA all-star gamesOLSM grad Ike Irish drafted by Orioles in first round of 2025 MLB DraftMcCulloh, a Holt High School graduate who was an assistant under Birmingham Seaholm head coach Spencer Adams last winter, has familiarity with the community.

He and his family moved to Berkley about a decade ago and hes coached within its youth ranks.

But he didnt quite imagine hed be leading the boys hoops program, either.I was very surprised when it opened, McCulloh said.

As soon as I saw it come open I texted (former coach) Joe (Sermo), and I was like, I guess Im gonna interview and see what happens.

When I went over (to Seaholm), Coach Adams lives right around the corner from me, and when I met, I said, Just so you know, Im all in, and the only job Id leave for is Berkley.

So last year, I was all in getting kids to have that great mindset.Sermo announced back in April that his own tenure of nine years would be coming to a close.

This was a really tough decision, but I am at peace with it, Sermo wrote on Twitter/X.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to lead a program that was such a big part of my upbringing ...

My goal was to leave this program in a better place than when I first inherited it back in 2016.

I am confident that we have done just that.Berkleys Parker Rost converts a layup during summer league action last Friday at Birmingham Groves High School.

(BRYAN EVERSON MediaNews Group)Though a pair of all-league selections in Jacob Friedman and Evan Haenick graduated, McCulloh should have two of Sermos sons, Drew and Sam, as several of the better weapons at his disposal when the Bears, who slipped in the OAA Blue standings from 2023-24 to last year, get back at it.Prior to working with the Maples, McCulloh was in charge at Livonia Churchill for eight seasons.

He endured some tough campaigns with the Chargers, including a winless final year, and spoke about some of the lessons learned over that period.I think the first thing (learned) was, not everybody wants the same things as I want as a coach, and its about finding that right mix, McCulloh said.

(Motivational speaker) Eric Thomas said something about Matthew Stafford and I took it to heart.

It (was that) its not that he wasnt the right quarterback (for the Lions), it just wasnt the right situation for him.

And I was sitting there ...

and I was trying to get more out of the kids than they wanted for themselves.

So I had to take a step back and adjust expectations for what they want.If a guy tells me he wants to be a college player, we do things at a college level.

If he said, Im just here for my four years, we adjust accordingly.

Here at Berkley, I asked who wants to play college basketball, whos happy with their four years here, and we have individualized plans on how we go about handling things.

Its not a one size fits all.

The kids at Churchill were great, but I pushed way too hard.

Its something I learned, and something where you can care so much that it can blind you to wanting to get them better.McCulloh indicated the year in the assistant chair, which was also closer to home, was beneficial.

Ive got kids, and theyre six, he said.

Theyre getting into soccer, dance, all these extracurricular activities, so being able to take time away to spend (more with them is good).

And driving an hour or an hour-and-a-half (to Churchill), it ended up taking a toll where I was missing some of the stuff they had.

It was good to be able to take a step back, refresh and now get back to working with the kids in the community.Hes stressing the kids to get tougher, but one of the things you cant teach, camaraderie, is among the traits McCulloh said the Bears havent lacked this summer.Weve had practices where weve had them all together, and weve looked very good in regards to pace of play, continuity, and the fact that guys like playing with each other, which is huge, McCulloh said.

You can see with these kids that they really embrace (our core principles).

Its something where, when we have a practice, we can go through and throw anything at them, no matter how difficult, and theyll figure it out and find a way to get it done, so theres a lot of positivity.

Its a great group of kids and its great to be here..

This article has been shared from the original article on dailytribune, here is the link to the original article.