With only seven able bodies participating in the Annapolis Area Christian School boys' basketball practice Monday, first-year coach Doug Scheidt decided he had to get in on the action to complete a four-on-four half-court possession drill.

Players let out a faint shriek of excitement when the 5-foot-10 bible teacher, probably the shortest guy on the court, checked the ball for the blue team and then started to run the perimeter at full speed.

"He's a tough player," said sophomore Kevin Newton, who starts at shooting guard for the Eagles and was given the assignment of defending his coach. "It's frustrating in a way because you know he's taking it easy on you and he still manages to get open. Playing with him helps us all - it elevates our game."

The energetic Scheidt, a former college basketball player from Chicago, tries not to make a habit out of participating in drills with his players. But a true believer of the learn-by-example coaching tactic, the 36-year-old didn't think twice about mixing it up with a bunch of teenagers that day on the hardwood.

"If they need me, I can step in," said Scheidt, who coached for 14 years at Wheaton Academy just outside of Chicago before moving to Annapolis in early September. "It's a different point-of-view for me as a coach. One thing I noticed is that I've lost a step, but at the same time, I can see up close their inexperience and then from there, target what we need to work on."

The overall goal for the Eagles this season is obvious as a constant reminder hangs on the wall of the gymnasium at the Bestgate Road campus: the MIAA C Conference basketball championship banner. AACS has won the title only twice, the last time coming in 1996. Besides boys soccer, every sport at the school has won at least one title since then and Scheidt thinks the team is now due.

"I'm still not too familiar with all the teams in the area and the rivalries that exist," he said. "But I do know that these guys want to succeed and are willing to do what ever it takes."

It didn't take long for the Eagles to absorb their new coach's positive attitude. In the first game of the season, AACS trailed Severn by 15 points before Scheidt called a timeout in an attempt to rally his players.

"He never stopped believing," said senior point guard Dain Scheibel, who had a team-leading 25 points in the Eagles' 55-53 come-from-behind victory over the Admirals. "I mean, coach came in here and has brought so much energy. He's changed everything in terms of our attitude and how we play. We definitely have more intensity now."

AACS principal Dave Castle has been trying to get Scheidt to coach the Eagles for the last four years. Once he finally made the jump, Scheidt, one of four new boys' basketball coaches in the county this year, said the transition from Wheaton (600 students) to AACS (450 students) has been a smooth one.

The biggest difference from the Windy City became evident around lunch time Monday when Scheidt found out that school was closing two hours early in anticipation of a winter snow storm.

"Yeah, that sort of threw me off a little bit," said Scheidt, who was without two players at the snow-shortened practice because its early start time conflicted with their other responsibilities. "Part of me was happy because you get out of school. And to a certain degree, these guys wouldn't mind a day off but I think they want to be here. There's an excitement in the air and they want to get better."

Missing school would delight any high school student, or coach for that matter, but the seriousness of an important practice took hold of the team the second they entered the gymnasium.

After all, the Eagles are off to a 4-0 start and with a road game at CHEN today before hosting Broadneck and St. Mary's next week, a wasted opportunity to work on some much-needed fundamentals could spell their first defeat.

"It's real easy, in this day and age, to catch the ball and look to score," said Scheidt, who, during a possession drill, wouldn't let players shoot the ball without completing five passes first. "I want them to do that but I want them to learn how to play together and rely on each other first."

Without a hint of irony, the players complied with their coach's "five pass" mandate before looking towards the basket. After practice, Scheidt laughed when his instructions were compared to those given by Gene Hackman's character in the high school basketball movie classic, Hoosiers.

"That's funny," Scheidt said while players hung around after practice to work on unsanctioned alley-oop dunks. "I didn't even think about that. The older I get, the more I notice that less players are watching that movie."

Hackman's character led his team to the state championship. With fundamentals in mind, Scheidt is hoping for the same.