Teams revamped with new coaches
The athletic department offices brim with new assistant basketball, football coaches; softball and basketball present new head coaches for the season
Andy Buss
Issue date: 9/13/07 Section: Sports
New coaches settle into offices of Roche Sports Complex this year.
Basketball head coach John Tharp along with his two new assistant coaches have taken the reins of the men's basketball team. The softball team gained, lost and gained a head coach while the football players are working with a new wide receivers coach.
Tharp, 38, is in his 17th year as a basketball coach - 14th as a head coach. He made the move from Division III Lawrence University in Wisconsin to Hillsdale with his wife and three children last semester.
"[I] could not ask for a better job in the world," he said.
Tharp said he looks forward to forming a family atmosphere with his team.
Assistant Coach Sam Hargraves, 30, is in his 10th year as an assistant basketball coach and said he is excited to be back at Hillsdale, where he coached for five years before taking a similar position at Northwood University for two seasons.
Hargraves said he is focused on building relationships on and off the court with his players - much like legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.
Completing the basketball staff, assistant coach Dan Evans, 24, is entering his first season coaching. A 2005 graduate of Lawrence University, Evans played point guard for Tharp. Evans, of Chicago, agrees with the Hillsdale town motto - that in fact "it is the people."
He said he had no trouble adjusting to small-town life, especially since he spends much of his time with Tharp and Hargraves. Evans heads into the upcoming season looking forward to an opportunity to coach "X's and O's."
Jamie Meyers, 22, graduated from Hillsdale in May. She was originally hired as assistant coach but moved into the head coaching position when Athletic Director Michael Kovalchik resigned the position earlier this week. Meyers is the Charger softball team's career home run record holder. She said she aims to guide the team to a winning record while helping the girls develop in life as well as on the field.
Born and raised in Hillsdale, Scott Campbell, 28, spent four years as both football and baseball coach at Jonesville High School. He said he jumped at the opportunity to get his feet wet in the college football coaching arena. Campbell also runs the fleet and shuttle department at the college.
Basketball head coach John Tharp along with his two new assistant coaches have taken the reins of the men's basketball team. The softball team gained, lost and gained a head coach while the football players are working with a new wide receivers coach.
Tharp, 38, is in his 17th year as a basketball coach - 14th as a head coach. He made the move from Division III Lawrence University in Wisconsin to Hillsdale with his wife and three children last semester.
"[I] could not ask for a better job in the world," he said.
Tharp said he looks forward to forming a family atmosphere with his team.
Assistant Coach Sam Hargraves, 30, is in his 10th year as an assistant basketball coach and said he is excited to be back at Hillsdale, where he coached for five years before taking a similar position at Northwood University for two seasons.
Hargraves said he is focused on building relationships on and off the court with his players - much like legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.
Completing the basketball staff, assistant coach Dan Evans, 24, is entering his first season coaching. A 2005 graduate of Lawrence University, Evans played point guard for Tharp. Evans, of Chicago, agrees with the Hillsdale town motto - that in fact "it is the people."
He said he had no trouble adjusting to small-town life, especially since he spends much of his time with Tharp and Hargraves. Evans heads into the upcoming season looking forward to an opportunity to coach "X's and O's."
Jamie Meyers, 22, graduated from Hillsdale in May. She was originally hired as assistant coach but moved into the head coaching position when Athletic Director Michael Kovalchik resigned the position earlier this week. Meyers is the Charger softball team's career home run record holder. She said she aims to guide the team to a winning record while helping the girls develop in life as well as on the field.
Born and raised in Hillsdale, Scott Campbell, 28, spent four years as both football and baseball coach at Jonesville High School. He said he jumped at the opportunity to get his feet wet in the college football coaching arena. Campbell also runs the fleet and shuttle department at the college.
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