In this series from Gregg Rosenberg, we'll take a look at how some of the state's prep basketball coaches philosophies around building a program.
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The eighth coach in the 'Building a Program' series: Valley Christian's Greg Haagsma.
When did you start in the game of basketball?
'I played in high school and started coaching some camp stuff in college and started my coaching career in 1991-2 at VCHS as the girls varsity coach. I became the boys coach after 6 years of coaching the girls.'
Who started you on this path of becoming a coach?
'I don’t know if anyone pointed me to basketball. I was a baseball player in college but just enjoyed basketball more. I really admired my high school basketball coach at Pella Christian - Jerry Nikkel. He helped me develop a good work ethic in sports. He also showed me how to be a tough coach but be a loving caring relational me to off the court as well.'
Have you taken some principles or guidelines from some former coaches that you use today?
'I believe in effort, continuous grinding, and the fact that defense and rebounding are things everyone can do. My high school coach taught that everyday. He was a very hard-nosed coach on the court and a very caring individual off the court. I try to emulate those same principles.
I love watching how Jay Caserio has his boys play defense. We try to emulate that.
I love watching Ray Portela’s team execute offensively. They are so precise. We try to emulate that.
I have watched how the reservation team push the ball up the floor. When we can, we have tried to emulate that.'
Is there a phrase or statement that you consistently repeat over and over again to your players during the season?
“We need to keep grinding”
“Nobody is going to outwork us”
“Play hard. Play fast. Play Smart. Play together.”
“They May have better individual players but we will be a better team.”
What is your coaching style?
'1. Preach effort, tough defense, shoot lots of three point shots.
2. We practice as we want to play. I have been known to work players very hard in practice. There may be coaches who do more conditioning or more full court work. We teach our kids how to grind in practice so that they will be able to do it in a game.'
Is there that one ast coach on your staff or an outsider that ever reach out to when the going gets tough?
'I have a former player (Boomer Roberts) who is the head coach at Purdue University who is a great colleague when it comes to basketball. I also have another AD/basketball coach from the state of Washington who is a very close friend to me who I will bounce things off of regularly.
All of varsity assistants have been with me for almost 20 years. Some even longer than that. I think one thing we really pride ourselves on is the ability to have multiple eyes on every situation, take criticism about the way things are being done, and improve how we are doing them. Nothing is personal. It is for the benefit of the program.'
Is there that one player or group of players that you are proud of how incredible he/they developed from their freshmen year to senior year?
'2004 - we graduated a huge group of seniors the year before. We were not expected to do much. We were able to get to the state finals because of a group of players who were court savvy and had a great work ethic.
2014 – state championship team – They had their struggles throughout the year. That group of seniors really pulled together during the playoffs. We had some luck as well, but good teams and players do create their own luck as well. They were able to go on a great run towards the end of the season and in the playoffs to win the D3 Championship that year.'
Favorite memory in your career so far?
'I am in my 30th year of coaching at Valley Christian, 24 of them as the boys’ varsity coach. There are so many great memories and it would be very hard to pick one. All 6 of the state championship teams have a special place in my heart. They each had their own successes and obstacles.
I think the memory that is the best right now is that in the spring each year – our school has started a tradition of having a 3 on 3 tournament. I usually just come to watch and maybe get pulled into officiating a game or two. However, the memory that sticks in my mind is watching our basketball alumni come back to our gym, the hugs that I can give our former players and just seeing them again. That is very special to me.'
There are many new young head coaches starting out their careers. Is there one piece of advice you can share with them on how to build a program?
'Build relationships with your players. Let them know that you care about them as young men and invest in their lives off of the basketball court.
Your job is to build men more than it is to build a basketball team. However, what you will find out is that if you do that, you will have more success building a basketball team and one who will do anything for you.'
You always have some standout players from a small school. Is that from a middle school feeder program?
'We recently just opened our own elementary and JH for Valley Christian. This will certainly help our program. In the past I have gotten a number of kids from the smaller Christian JH’s in the east valley.
However, I think we have benefited from running a very fundamentally based camp that our parents really like for their kids. We start camps for kids at 6 years old and a lot of my players have been coming to the camps for 7-8 years or more.'
Do you have an offseason program that you utilize?
'Being a small school, we do share athletes to some degree so I do not get a full summer schedule with my full team. That is OK because the cross training aspect is good for these kids and it does help them to build their bodies athletically. The basketball only kids will get some individual training in. We also have a basketball lifting time for our kids and focus hard on the weight room. A lot of them are in weights classes so they don’t need to come outside of school for that. Some do. We often play in a fall league and have a number of open gym times as well during the fall to prepare for the season.
Each player has things they need to focus on during the off-season. Our motto is “our team will improve from “November – March”. Players have to improve “March to November”.
We have 1-2 weeks of high school camp early in the summer. Then we will play in a couple of leagues. One very important part of our program is taking all three levels on a big out of state trip each summer. We go and play 9-10 games in 5 days. However, the trip is a huge bonding experience for our incoming freshman and it is something all of our players just love. It is one of the highlights each year for them. This is a great way to end our summer together.'
How many wins have you earned so far at Valley Christian?
'29 years of coaching with 6 as a girls coach.
652 wins and 200 losses.'
If we do end up having a HS season, how do the Trojans look for the upcoming season in 3A?
'We may not have the standout player like we have had the past few years. Losing a Logan Phillips is hard to replace.
However, I have a lot of talent returning. We have a lot of seniors excited for their opportunity to play and I think we are a very deep team. We have a lot of versatility and I am also very excited about some of the newcomers we have. I have one freshman who I think has a great shot at making a difference this year already if he keeps working hard. I am excited that feel that we will be in the mix again.'
Rosenberg's take:
Like Rancho Solano Prep, Valley Christian has become one of the premier small schools, but this one is based in the East Valley.
Coach Haagsma has won almost 80% of the games he's coached in the last 30 years, which is truly remarkable. He coaches with integrity and has built his program from the surrounding neighborhood kids.
Like he said, he lost a lot of talent, including one of the better seniors last year, but don't be surprised to see the Trojans in the hunt all year long.
