W. Reserve chooses Brian Snyder as coach

Staff report

BERLIN CENTER

Western Reserve High’s new boys basketball coach will be a pretty familiar face to the Blue Devils’ players.

Brian Snyder, who spent the past five years coaching Western Reserve’s eighth grade team, was hired Thursday night to replace Mike Falasca, who went 7-15 in his only season with the program. Prior to Falasca, Steve Miller coached for nine seasons.

“I’ve always had a love and a passion for the game and the excitement brings,” said Snyder, who was the school’s head girls coach in the 1990s and is a substitute teacher at the school. “I’ve coached all the kids, from the freshman to the seniors, at some point and I’m hoping to bring some stability and consistency.

“The program has always been good, always been competitive. There’s always been a good group of guys. I just want to continue down that path.”

Snyder, a 1988 Western Reserve High graduate, also operates the Diamond Back Golf Course in Canfield and has also served as the Blue Devils’ varsity golf coach.

He originally stepped down from varsity coaching to spend more time with his wife and four kids. But with all four kids now in school — the youngest is in first grade and the oldest in high school — he can resume varsity coaching.

Western Reserve will lose five seniors to graduation but Snyder likes the athleticism of the incoming classes, so he will look to play an uptempo style.

“I like to play aggressive basketball with an emphasis on rebounding and getting to the basket,” he said. “We have an interesting group coming back.

“The short-term goal is just to keep getting better every day and look to be a competitive team in the league. We’ll see where we’re at in December.”