Coach Dave Glasgow is one of Arizona's most successful coaches. He had a very successful run at Coolidge High School from 1993 until 2004 winning state championships in 1998, 1999 and 2002. His team was state runner-up in 2001 and the Bears won region championships in 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002. Dave's record at Coolidge was 217-89.

In 2004, Coach Glasgow took over the head position at Buena High School in Sierra Vista, Arizona. The Colts appeared in the state semi-finals in 2009 and 2011 and won region championships in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2011. Overall at Buena, Dave sports a 182-63 record.

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ArizonaVarsity: Where did you attend high school and college - tell us about your playing career?

Coach Glasgow: Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. I got my graduate and under graduate degrees at the University of Arizona. I wasn't very good.

AV: How did you get into coaching?

Coach Glasgow: I started coaching fifth and sixth graders on weekends when I was in high school. I also coached in youth leagues at the Lohse YMCA in the mid-1980s. My first real coaching job was at Flowing Wells Junior High in 1988.

AV: How do you manage your time during the season with respect toward your teaching/coaching duties and your social/family life?

Coach Glasgow: I don't have any hobbies. I spend time with my family and I do my job.

AV: What position do you hold on your school's campus other than your coaching job?

Coach Glasgow: I teach U.S. History to eleventh graders.

AV: Who are your coaching idols?

Coach Glasgow: I don't know that I have an idol although I do look up to a lot of older coaches. I thought Dan Mannix was a great coach. I certainly respect and look up to Gary Ernst. I have gotten to know Coach Royce Youree some and he is a great man. Mike Dyer who ran the really successful Marana girls program in the 1980's is another older coach that I admire.

AV: Do you have any current or past mentors and what did you learn from them?

Coach Glasgow: I have a lot of respect for Bill Ludeke. I was his Assistant at Tucson Green Fields from 1988-1990. I look up to Pat Derksen and have tried to replicate the way the Amphitheatre program runs all the way down to the elementary schools. I respect the fact that he stayed at Amphi for over twenty-plus years through thick and thin and ran his program the right way. I look up to Rich Utter of Rincon for the same reasons.

AV: What are some of the personal rewards you've gained from coaching?

Coach Glasgow: I have been able to help a lot of kids get through school that might not have without basketball. A lot of the people that are in my life now outside of my family have come through basketball. I got to coach Randy Youtsey and Mike Smith, a couple great teams, and a lot of good ones.

AV: How could AZ high school basketball be improved?

Coach Glasgow The game itself is great but the playing field is not level. I understand that the A.I.A. (Arizona Interscholastic Association) has a very difficult job but I do not think they serve the needs of the rural schools (big and small) very well at all.

AV: What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing AZ high school basketball?

Coach Glasgow: The recruiting stuff bothers me. It is way out of control; I am not a big fan of the "club scene." I think it is also getting out of hand.

AV: How do you feel the A.I.A. is doing in their administration of the sport of basketball?

Coach Glasgow: I answered some of that above. I don't think computer scheduling and the sectional format worked and the regions should not have been cut. I have encountered some A.I.A. officials through the years who were friendly and helpful. I have run into some others who were not.

AV: Who are the top three high school coaches in AZ?

Coach Glasgow: Gary Ernst and Raul Mendoza. I think the two of the very best young coaches are Ben Hurley and Todd Fazio.

AV: Who's the best player you ever coached?

Coach Glasgow: Mike Smith and Randy Youtsey.

AV: If you could pick any AZ high school to coach at (other than your current school), who would it be?

Coach Glasgow: Coolidge and Buena have been fine with me. It would be interesting to build a program from scratch somewhere though.

AV: What was your biggest mistake made in coaching? (game or player management)

Coach Glasgow: During my first year at Coolidge in 1993-1994 I scheduled practice at 8:00 am. I had to cut my best player because he never got out of bed. I have been at 10:00 am on Saturday and on holidays ever since.

AV: If you couldn't coach basketball anymore, yet could coach another sport, what would it be?

Coach Glasgow: Girls Basketball

AV: What should the role of parents be during their child's high school years?

Coach Glasgow: Most of them don't do what they should be doing which is to just sit there, support the kid, and actually enjoy watching the kid play. A lot of them don't get that it is about the kid not them.

AV: What are your policies for dealing with overbearing or meddling parents?

Coach Glasgow: I will talk to them about anything relating to the well-being of their kid (especially academics). I am not talking to them about playing time and strategy. I try to keep my distance during the season.

AV: How do you balance playing time so that the entire roster feels included?

Coach Glasgow: I don't try to balance it. We do try to be really honest with the kids about where they stand. We had several members of one family chanting "play the seniors" who were all starters this year in a game when we were up forty in the fourth quarter.

AV: Would you describe yourself as an offensive-minded coach, defensive-minded, or a little of both?

Coach Glasgow: Defense, Up-Tempo Offense, and fundamentals.

AV: How have you been impacted by open enrollment and/or transfers?

Coach Glasgow: Open enrollment and transfers are a different deal for us especially compared to Phoenix. We get military transfers in. Some of them can play. We also lose some military transfers who can play. Generally it balances out. It is not like in the city where Johnny wants to play with Jimmy or Johnny is pissed at Coach Smith so he changes apartments and moves from apartment B to apartment C. We have open enrollment here but it is also way different than in the metro areas. Some of the kids from Sierra Vista who can't play for us go to Tombstone.

AV: How do you feel about players transferring into your program?

Coach Glasgow: We are not recruiting anybody. If a kid comes in he gets a fair shake. You can't hold it against them that they were not here.

AV: How do you balance listening to/implementing suggestions from your assistants to ensure that they feel their opinions are valued?

Coach Glasgow: I believe in the concept of shared ownership. I am blessed with a great staff and they all have a role and get their say. I learned that from Bill Ludeke.

AV: What elements do you focus on when giving your team a scouting report on their opponent?

Coach Glasgow: We want to take away strengths and take advantage of weaknesses.

AV: What approach do you take in "cutting" kids who didn't "pan-out" as anticipated, i.e. a junior (with potential) who played JV but as a senior would not get any playing time on your varsity team?

Coach Glasgow: We have tried through the years to keep "program guys" as long as they understood their roles and were not going to be disruptive. That is going to be harder in the next few years because our program is a lot deeper than it has been.

AV: Generally speaking, what do you like to get accomplished during the summer season?

Coach Glasgow: I want the guys to get used to playing as a group and the young guys to get comfortable playing at the varsity level.

AV: Do you see any emerging trends in the high school game?

Coach Glasgow: One is more up-tempo play. Unfortunately another is the increasingly, individually focused mentality of some players and parents.

AV: How do you feel about club ball programs?

Coach Glasgow: I am not all that thrilled with the club scene. It is a necessary evil for really good players. It is a waste of money for others.