Since Fountain Hills is a small school, and I am probably one of the youngest coaches in Arizona, I though I would start by giving some background history of our program, of myself, and my players. Unless you play in the 3A, you probably don't know a lot about our program. Fountain Hills High School opened in 1993 as a junior/senior high school; prior to that time students attended Coronado High School. From the start, programs like volleyball and softball were instantly competitive. As for basketball, it took some time to get things rolling against well-established programs like Coolidge, Bradshaw Mountain, Dysart, and Buckeye.

The first coach of the Falcon basketball program was Roy Burcham, who is now a legend at FHHS for his work in our volleyball program. After a short tenure, the program was turned over to Burcham's assistant coach Mark Smith. Smith worked very hard at turning the program into a winner. Smith, in his tenure, took the Falcons to the State Playoffs multiple times and eventually to the final four. During this time many great players, the pioneers of Falcon basketball, put Fountain Hills on the map. The Martinson brothers along with FHHS Hall of Famer, Jon Kavanagh, led the Falcons to their first ever region title and final four appearance in 2000. The Winslow Bulldogs who were led by now NAU star Stephen Garnett eliminated them that season. At the conclusion of the 2000 season, Coach Smith stepped down. At this point Rick Birk, now an assistant coach at Scottsdale Community College, took over as head coach. Birk would stay two years at FHHS, the 2001 and 2002 seasons. In 2002, led by Jordan Ruch and Mark Stavenger, the Falcons won their region and went to the quarterfinals of the State tournament, losing to eventual undefeated champion Coolidge. That was the year I came to Fountain Hills; I was hired to coach the junior varsity team. When Birk resigned at the conclusion of the 2002 season, I was hired to replace him.

Before I came to Fountain Hills, I spent two years teaching and coaching in Payson. I also coached at the middle school and was an assistant varsity coach at Payson High School. I left Payson in 2001 and took a JV position at Fountain Hills High School, the following year I took over as head coach. In my fist season as head coach, the team went 19-8 and made the playoffs, but lost to Greyhills in the first round. In 2004, we finished the season 20-9 and made the playoffs, but lost to Chino Valley. However, in my opinion we were one of the top three teams in the State and legitimate title contenders along with dominate teams like Seton Catholic and Rio Rico. At one point in that season we were 18-2, but seven players, including 3 starters, were suspended from the team for violating team rules. Our title hopes were lost, but players like Martin Ort, Brad Vipperman, the Lorenz brothers, and the Keating brothers did not give up. We still made the playoffs behind 45 points from sophomore Martin Ort in the regional qualifying game. We ended up losing our last 3 games by a total of 4 points. The 2005 season became the most memorable season in my short career. This team won 32 games, 27 in a row, won the region and the region tournament, as well as the school's first ever State championship in basketball. Not only was this a great year for basketball, but also for my family. My first child, Liam, was born at the conclusion of the season. I was also fortunate to win a State championship with my father, who is my assistant coach. That has always been our dream.

We began this summer with the idea that if we were going to be successful in the upcoming season, we needed to work harder than we did last year. The players were ready to put last season behind them and move toward the future. They do not want to rest on their previous accomplishments. This summer we were very competitive including winning the U of A team camp, final four appearances in the ASU team camp and our tournament, the Falcon Invitational. At U of A team camp, we played very well as a team and went 8-0. This was the second year in a row that we won that tournament. At ASU we battled our way to the final four and lost at the buzzer. I was very proud of the team. In July we host our own tournament, the Falcon Invitational. We hosted 14 teams this year and finished in the final four losing to Buena. We simply could not match up against the athleticism of Buena. With our tournament over, so is our summer. It is now time to rest and prepare for the upcoming season.

As for our upcoming season we have been moved to the 3A West Region. Leaving the tough South Region was not something I wanted to do. This season we have tried to toughen up our schedule as much as possible, as I believe we improve most from playing the toughest teams available. We will play in the 5A Paradise Valley tournament in November, and we will play Buena High School, one of the top 5A teams, in January. Our schedule also includes non-region games with Scottsdale Christian Academy, Tuba City, Seton Catholic, Coolidge, and Payson. Our team has put in a great summer effort, which will help during the season. Our younger players have improved tremendously since last year. Naturally our senior leadership will be one of our continued strengths. I am very excited to begin working with this team in November.

Below is some information about our players who are returning from last season's championship team and some of our additions. Now that school is starting and registration is finishing up, we are meeting new players that have moved to Fountain Hills from other parts of the country. We are fortunate to have a few new faces that will help add some depth to our team.

Returning Seniors:

Mike Krause – Shooting Guard – 5'11

Mike is one of our top three-point shooters and one of our best defenders. This season he will help us tremendously in every aspect of the game. He shot 51% from the field last season and will be one of our senior leaders this season.

The Arizona Republic has chosen Martin the last two years for the All Arizona Team. In all three seasons on varsity he has been an all region selection and this past season was the South Region Player of the Year. He has led our team in scoring the past two seasons averaging 18 ppg. in each, and has shot 55% from the three-point line.

Tyler Ruch – Combo Guard – 5'11

Tyler was our defensive stopper all season and finished the year with 91 steals and 100 assists. He is a great three-point shooter and a great team leader. His energy on the court is contagious and he is the backbone of our defense.

Owen Santos – Power Forward – 6'4

The Arizona Republic chose Dan for the All Arizona Team in 2005. He was also selected as a first team all region player. Dan led our team defensively with 133 steals and offensively dishing out 163 assists this past season. He was also our second leading scorer averaging 15 points per game.

Returning Juniors:

Alex Bunk – Power Forward – 6'4

Alex was an all region player this past season as a sophomore and one of our top scorers. He has improved so much this summer that I think he may be the best 3A player his senior year in 2007. He has extended his game to the three-point line and has developed a solid inside presence.

Pat Keating – Combo Guard – 6'4

Pat started for us as a freshmen a few years back and has now grown about nine inches since then. He was our top three-point shooter last year and has developed his inside game as well this past summer. He will be one of the best players in 3A his senior year in 2007.

New Additions in 2006:

Lionell Dorchester – Guard – 5'10 – Junior

Jamison Caltabiano – Forward – 6'4 – Junior

Matt Santos – Center – 6'5 – Sophomore

Derek Green – Guard – 5'10 – Sophomore

Mason Rauch – Forward – 6'5 – Freshman

Kyle Pedersen – Forward – 6'4 – Freshman

Brian Gratz – Guard – 5'10 – Freshman

-Cain Jagodzinski

Head Basketball Coach

Fountain Hills High School