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Foster named boys hoops coach
By Joe Scalzo
New Champion High boys basketball coach Doug Foster spent 16 years coaching as an assistant under Don Andres, who is known both for his success as a head coach and his, ahem, frenetic sideline demeanor.
“He’s obviously animated but he’s a great coach and he wears his colors on his sleeves,” Foster said of Andres, who is also his father-in-law. “I’m the same kind of coach. The same intensity. The same passion. The same desire to go out and do what you have to do to get the kids to win.
“We have very similar styles of coaching. He’s just got 30 more years on me, that’s all.”
Foster, who was unanimously approved by the Champion board of education on Monday, takes over a program that went 2-19 last season, prompting eight-year head coach Dan Bubon to step down. Bubon went 60-115 with the Golden Flashes.
A 1983 Niles High graduate, Foster spent 16 years under Andres at Niles, Howland and Reynolds, Pa. He coached the Niles middle school program the past two years and saw firsthand the potential in Champion’s younger players.
So, for the first time, he decided to apply to be a head coach.
“I saw the kind of kids they had coming and I liked what I saw,” said Foster, who also applied to be Niles High girls coach before withdrawing to pursue the job at Champion. “The school’s commitment to excellence is one of the biggest reasons I applied.”
Foster has been married to his wife, Kristen, for 14 years and they have two children: Hailee, 9, and Douglas, 7. He knows it will be a bigger time commitment, so he discussed his decision with Kristen first — “I don’t make any decisions without talking to her first,” he said — and with Andres before deciding to make the jump.
“I’ve been ready for the challenge,” he said of becoming a head coach. “It’s always been my dream and I feel like I have a good grasp on what you need to do.
“We’re definitely going to do things the right way to make the program successful. You start at the elementary programs and work your way up. I have to get the kids to believe in the system and myself and the staff and go from there.”
Foster met briefly with the team this week and plans to emphasize hard work, fundamentals and structure. Since Champion has struggled in recent years, he said his first job is to get his players to believe in themselves.
“That’s the No. 1 priority,” he said. “They have to understand what it takes to be successful.
“I’m excited about the challenge and I’m thankful Champion gave me the opportunity to fulfill my dream.”