Late this summer, Applewild head of school Amy Jolly was looking for a new director of basketball at the junior boarding school. Upon a suggestion, she reached out to Brandon West, then an assistant coach at Darrow who has a wealth of experience and connections in local basketball.
At first, it was just a networking conversation. A mutual acquaintance told Jolly that West knew who she could hire, and West was happy to help give her some names to look at. But a funny thing happened during that call: West became interested in the position himself.
“As she’s talking to me, I’m just like, ‘Wow, this sounds like a position with great support,’” West recalled. “Everything was a green light, green light, green light. At the end of the conversation, I was like, ‘Amy, I’m more than happy to give you names, but I might want to be considered.’”
Jolly was pleasantly surprised, and the school moved quickly on hiring West. Days later, they flew him to their campus in Fitchburg, Mass., and it became a perfect match. It’s a homecoming of sorts for West, a Massachusetts native who grew up between Marlborough and Boston who’s excited about a unique opportunity to develop student-athletes.
