Alumni Steven Dyer was named program director and varsity coach of boy’s basketball for the 2016 season. He has taken over the position from Kearey Smith,  last season’s varsity coach.

In addition to his role leading the varsity team, Dyer also has the responsibilities of managing the school’s entire basketball program.

Dyer himself played varsity basketball for Campolindo during his 4 years of high school. After graduating in 2007, he attended the University of Oregon, where he swam for the Ducks. According to Dyer, his time on that team helped him cultivate his passion for coaching.

“After I was in high school, reflecting on it kind of gave me a better sense of realizing how much I love basketball and how I wanted to keep doing it. Obviously I wasn’t going to keep playing, but I wanted to stay involved through coaching,” said Dyer.

Senior team member Chris Wright, along with other teammates, consider the new leadership to be beneficial for improving the team’s standing this season. “I liked Coach K and I like Coach Dyer now. Coach K was my 7th grade coach at Stanley, but Dyer used to play here. He is very knowledgeable about basketball and I think he’s a good fit for our team,” said Wright.

Before accepting the coaching position at Campolindo, Dyer was a member of the Miramonte coaching staff. “It was a good experience, I learned a lot coaching there but coming back here is a dream come true for me because it’s my alma mater. When I got this job, I was incredibly happy. I’m looking forward to leading these guys this year,” said Dyer.

So far, the players have been impressed with Dyer’s coaching methods. “Every drill that we do has a purpose and is supposed to help us get better at defense, get better at moving away from the ball. None of the drills make you ask yourself, ‘What’s the point?’,” said Wright.

One notable change from last year’s system is more structure, “Kearey’s system was more ‘free’, just playing basketball,” said senior Quinn Cuddihy.

Cuddihy thinks Dyer’s experience as a player has given him an important perspective as a coach. “[Dyer] was at Campo so he has a good inside view into the mind of a Campo player. He understands what we go through, he knows what we need to do to get better and to unify us as a team,” Cuddihy explained. A

s a member of the varsity team during the transition of coaches, Cuddihy said that he wants the team to reach greater heights this year and believes that the close knit team works well together.

With the first tournament game scheduled for December 28 against Valla Park, Dyer said that he has observed “good chemistry” in the team and is optimistic for the season ahead. “The guys play well together, I think that they all play hard. For things to work on, we can’t change this, but we are pretty inexperienced at the varsity level so that’s probably the biggest thing. Again, I am optimistic,” he said.