Liberty Belles | Coaches

The Liberty Belles coaching staff is made up of coaches with decades of experience playing and coaching basketball at the high school and collegiate level. Our staff's dedication to excellence and individual attention has led to years of great Liberty Belles players and teams.

Jill Cook: A former Division I player at Georgetown Jill has been with the Liberty Belles for 15 years. She is the club's acting President. Jill has coached the varsity at Christ the King H.S. for the past 15 years. She is also a former college coach- coaching for 2 years at Adelphi University. She has also coached for USA Basketball in Colorado Springs where her East team captured the Gold Medal in June 2003. She has coached more than 80 scholarship winners and led her Liberty Belles team to numerous Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight and Final Four AAU National Championship appearances. Her 1998 17 & under team played for the AAU National Championship in Indianapolis. Jill’s 2005 Liberty Belles team won the prestigious USJN National Championship in Washington D.C.

Mark Casamassa: Mark joined the Liberty Belles several years ago and has done an outstanding job of contributing to our vast success. Mark has more than 10 years of coaching experience and specializes in coaching our younger teams in their developmental years.

Dennis P. Cook: Dennis has more than 35 years of coaching experience in the game of basketball. He has been with the Liberty Belles for 8 seasons. Dennis specializes in coaching our younger teams and stresses teaching the fundamentals of the game. His former teams have won more than 20 CYO championships as well as numerous PAL, Lakowitz, and holiday tournament titles.

Clare Droesch: Clare is entering her third year on the Belles coaching staff. Clare played for the Liberty Belles and Christ the King and is one of the absolute best offensive players ever to play for either program. Clare was a high school All American as well as a top player for Boston College—leading them to the Sweet Sixteen in her college career. Clare has an outstanding mind for the game and is currently a Division III college coach in Massachusetts. We look forward to having her back for another outstanding year.

Beth Grys: Beth enters her third year as a Liberty Belles coach. A former Division I standout at the University of Stony Brook Beth has been a tremendous asset to the Belles coaching staff in the last several years.

Mike LoCascio: Mike is a current assistant JV coach at Christ the King H.S. and has coached with the Liberty Belles for several years. He brings more than 20 years of coaching experience to the program.

Bob Mackey: Bob joins the Liberty Belles staff for the first time in 2007. Bob is the Head Coach at National Powerhouse Christ the King H.S. He was named National coach of the year in 2005 and his CK teams won back to back National Championships in 2005 and 2006. He brings more than 22 years of basketball experience to the Belles.

The Liberty Belles have always offered their players the very best in coaching. Several former Liberty Belles coaches are now in the NCAA College coaching ranks. These coaches include:

Vincent Cannizzaro: Founder and former President of the Liberty Belles. Coached at Stony Brook University from 1999-2003. Currently working as the Director of Girl's Basketball for the Hoop Group.

Joe Carvalihdo: Former Liberty Belles Assistant coach. Went on to become the Director of Basketball Operations at St. John's University. Current Assistant Women's coach at Louisiana State University in Louisiana.

Tom Catalanotto: Former Liberty Belles Assistant coach for a number of years. Current Assistant JV coach at The Mary Louis Academy.

Suzanne Collins: A former Division I player at St. John's University Suzanne coached with the Liberty Belles for four yea rs. She will be on sabbatical this year after having 3 children in three years. Hopefully she will be able to return shortly. She is the former Head Varsity coach at Manhasset High School.

Dennis M. Cook: Former Liberty Belles Head coach of several 15 & 16 and under teams. Current Assistant Men's Coach at St. Peter's College in Jersey City, NJ.

Liz Cranmer-Briggs: Former Liberty Belles Assistant coach. Became an Assistant coach at Bucknell University. Former Head Women's coach at Susquehanna College in Pennsylvania.

Eran Horodniceanu: Former Liberty Belles Head coach and Assistant coach. Currently working in the world of finance in Washington D.C.

Bob Leckie: Former Liberty Belles Assistant coach. Current Head Men's coach at St. Peter's College in Jersey City, NJ.

Joe Lewinger: A former player at St. Joseph's College in Brooklyn Joe coached with the Liberty Belles for two seasons. He is the current Head Varsity coach at The Mary Louis Academy. He recently led his Mary Louis team to their 1st State Federation Championship in 2002.

Troy McGhie: A former player at Stony Brook University Troy has been with the Liberty Belles for almost a dozen years. He has also coached high school basketball for more than a decade. He is the current Head Varsity coach at Petrides High School in Staten Island. He has been both a Head coach and an Assistant coach with the Liberty Belles. His teams have competed in the AAU National Championships 7 times.

John McGlynn: Former Head coach of a number of championship Liberty Belles teams in the mid-90's. Current Head Coach of the Archbishop Molloy H.S. Varsity team.

Maureen McHugh: Former Head and Assistant Coach of a number of top Liberty Belles teams. Current Varsity Assistant coach at Christ the King H.S.

Margaret McKeon: Former Liberty Belles Head coach. Went on to coach at Arizona State University and George Washington University. Former Head Women's coach Boston University in Boston, MA.

John Scalfaro: Former Head coach of several Liberty Belles 15 and 16 & under teams. Former Head coach of the Christ the King H.S. Junior Varsity team.

Elizabeth Wallen: One of the original founders of the Liberty Belles AAU club. Liz served as an Assistant coach for many years on several Championship teams. She also handled a majority of the club's scheduling, organization and administrative duties. She is currently a Vice President at JP Morgan-Chase and is not involved in basketball at this time.