
Yes, he is just as passionate as he was three years ago in the above photo.
And while Red Lion girls' coach Don Dimoff is always vocal and extremely intense on the sidelines, he is a master of making adjustments.
Case in point: The Lions knocking off Reading, 54-48, in a District 3 Class AAAA second-round game, exactly seven weeks after losing to the Red Knights by 23 points.
Dimoff wasn't about to let that happen again.
For starters, he changed up his team's trademark full-court pressure defense and relied on a stellar half-court system, complete with some double teams for good measure.
Heck, Dimoff even threw in a little zone defense -- a first this season. -- and preached tempo with patience on offense.
Even while trailing early on, it was apparent that Red Lion was a different team on Friday night, playing to its tempo, not Readings. Later in the game, it seemed the Red Knights weren't sure what to do with the resurgent Lions.
After all, how could a team -- even one as young as Red Lion -- get that much better in less than two months?
Credit Dimoff. Credit the kids for buying into the system that a great many of them grew up in.
The Lions were down nine early against Reading. In their first round game against Cumberland Valley, they trailed by 10.
"We didn't panic when we were behind," Dimoff said. "We kept hanging and kept hanging. The kids believe in themselves as a group. They know anything is possible."
For a team with five new starters from a season ago and just one senior on the roster-- guard Brittany Harlacker -- to be 18-6 and reach the Giant Center for Tuesday's District 3 AAAA semifinals, maybe anything is possible.
"I am very proud with what we have built at Red Lion," Dimoff said. "We wanted to talk about pride and playing with that chip on our shoulder again. The kids did that tonight."


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