It’s no easy task to replace a coach, who for the past 11 years, has been a mentor and guardian for so many players. It’s especially more difficult when that said coach has accumulated an astounding 163-54 record for a team that has Regional Championship and County Championship banners hung up in the gymnasium. Ryan Ingalls has set a standard here at Bethesda-Chevy Chase, leading the girls varsity basketball team to prosperity and nearly securing their first ever state title a year ago. But for the first time in over a decade, Ingalls won’t be the person in charge of the Barons. Fortunately, it won’t be a new face that’ll step in to take the charge; actually quite the contrary:
Mara Fitzgerlad is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who moved to Maryland in search of a coaching job during the 2019-20 season. The Barons were in the midst of another impressive campaign when Fitzgerald first spoke with Ingalls. She mentions that when searching for schools, she valued teams that were competitive but also had strong core values. “In my first interview with Coach Ingalls, I knew very quickly that what she had built at B-CC was a perfect fit.” It wasn’t too long after that Fitzgerald shared the sidelines with Ingalls, who shared her experience and philosophy to her. “She taught me how to think like a coach rather than just as a player.” While attending Penn State University, Fitzgerald was a member of the club basketball team. When she first started being an assistant for B-CC in 2019, she quickly realized how big of an adjustment it was going from a player’s perspective to now a coach’s. “You can't just lace up your shoes, sub into the game, and fix the problem ahead of you. You have to figure out how to communicate quickly and effectively in high-pressure situations to kids who all learn and comprehend differently.” But luckily for Fitzgerald, Ingalls had her ways getting to the players, as she herself was a collegiate athlete. She often used that experience as a player to relate to her players, and also used her experience as a teacher to communicate with them.
The relationship between Fitzgerald and Ingalls cannot be overshadowed. It’s probably a key reason why they’ve averaged near 20 wins since 2021, including campaigns of 27 and 22 wins the past two years. “We're both highly competitive which drives us towards success and leads us to get along really well both on and off the court.” She explains to me their daily routine that starts off in the yawning hours of 6:30 AM where the two will call each other while driving to the school to plan out the day and what needs to be prioritized during practice and for gamedays. Then, at the end of the day, the two will call each other on facetime and watch over film and dissect their opponents to get the Barons in the best shape possible for gameday. It’s also from a personal perspective that they’ve had so much success working together. They both share their love for D.C. sports and get together with friends and families. And with her family back in Pennsylvania, it’s all the more warming for Fitzgerald. “I feel very lucky to have built relationships with her two amazing daughters and the other members of her family. That sense of comradery trickles down to the culture of our team. We're all in this together and I think our players see and appreciate that.”
Fitzgerald brings with her a coaching philosophy that is centered around working together. She wants her players to do everything as a team. “Whether we're winning, losing, brainstorming game strategies, making the gameday warm up playlist, picking out a team shoe for the upcoming season, or even just picking where to eat before a game… We find our power in the sum of our parts rather than relying on one player or one game plan.” She explains that it will be important to get contributions from every player, no matter how big or small, or how different it may be. And she also emphasizes communication from the coaches to the players and vice versa. “We have high expectations of the players and we understand that the players have high expectations of their coaches. We encourage the kids to speak up, ask questions, offer ideas, and hold us accountable, just like we do of them. When everyone is bought-in on the same goal, it's easier to get there.” With her first season at the helm coming in the winter, how will the Barons look? The Barons graduated four seniors from this past year in Frances Doyle, Elisha Robinson, Jaylin Harried, and Sasha Barr, who were all part of the team since their freshman seasons. It will be intriguing to see who steps and takes their roles in leadership. Coach Fitzgerald highlighted several players led by Chelsey Barr, the younger sister of Sasha. She started all of last season as a sophomore and was one of the top contributors. Ashley Agard, Lucia Horgan, and Abby Seo were the other players that she mentioned. She also shared her excitement about the incoming freshman class as well as the JV pipeline, who had a successful season of their own. She expects “big freshman contributions” on the varsity level.
Upon graduating from Penn State, Fitzgerald received a degree in Architectural Engineering, which applies engineering principles to the design and construction of buildings. In this case, it will be the design and construction of the players on the roster and to piece them together and see how each rotation fares with each other. “We'll take it one piece at a time.” And despite the loss of four seniors, the future remains bright and the goals and expectations will continue to be the same for this season and beyond. They will look to compete for regional championships, county championships, and of course state championships. “After 6 seasons of building relationships with the players, the parents, teachers at the school, coaches of opposing teams, and helping drive the program to our recent successes, I believe the community can take comfort in the familiar face sitting in the head-coach's chair. They know what I'm here to do because they've seen me do it at Coach Ingalls' side for 6 years.” And now it’s here: the Mara Fitzgerald era at Bethesda-Chevy Chase. Will she be the one to deliver the school’s first state title? Only time will tell, but the pieces are there both present and future, and it should no doubt be another winning campaign for Barons girls basketball.
