Kyle Kucharz

Jordan Stiefel
Sport Marketing and Promotion
Professor Garrett
10/13/2016
Air DuHawk

New head mens basketball coach Chris Martin is one of the biggest stories to come

about the Loras College campus this year. The Loras mens basketball program has always been

a great success in the local Dubuque area, captivating not just students but also local Dubuque

natives. After following a somewhat disappointing season last year with the DuHwaks finishing

13-13 and 8-6 in conference he is really looking to turn the program around with his prior

success in the sport.

Before entertaining the idea of a head coaching position, Martin had some great

experiences playing the sport. After graduating from Elmhurst College and having a successful

career averaging 17.6 points per game and a career total of 441 points, Martin took his talents to

the professional stage. After graduation Martin went on to play three seasons of professional

basketball, two years in Luxembourg and one Germany. After his third season he accepted a one

year head coaching position with the Bayer Leverkusen Giants leading them to the playoffs that

year. After hanging up his shoes he decided to move back home and establish himself as a

successful basketball coach which he is already in pursuit of.

When speaking with Coach Martin a main goal was to see what he believes his job

entails. I believe my job as head coach is to serve the players, I think that is the overall job

description in what we are supposed to do. This is a different twist than what we are used to

hearing from any head coach in any sport. Yes your players are very important to your program

and your success that season but the main focus in winning a conference/national championship.

Many head coaches will state this as their main goal and then lead into what their players can do,
not Coach Martin. He believes in putting his players first, serving them because they are what

this program consists of, without them there would be no team chemistry, fun, and especially no

success on the court.

Coach Martin also touches base on what not only what he does but also what his staff

does to make everything work as a whole. He wants everyone to know that he is not the solo

driving force of the Loras basketball program, there are many other individuals that work behind

the scenes to help see what the fans see. Coach martin also talks about the many roles he plays.

We have a huge 2 page sheet that has a breakdown of our staff, what my part time assistant

does, what my full time assistant does, what I do which leads to our program being quite in

depth. It is easy to see that Coach Martin is a team player, and lets everyone know that even

though he has a full list of responsibilities he has a great team behind him helping along the way.

Some of the responsibilities that fall into Coach Martins lap are obviously practice,

scouting, team functions, training room communications and many other roles of any average

coach would be doing. But also on his list there are a few others that definitely separate himself

from other coaches in the league. Coach Martin is also in charge of alumni relations, team camp,

summer camp, little dunkers, and fundraising. These are all essentials in any basketball program

but are usually trickled down the ladder for others to handle. Coach Martin chose to attack these

responsibilities individually because he believes that it is part of his duty, his role as head coach

of this basketball team.

When looking at the team as a whole and the players individually it is interesting to see

what Coach Martins take is on how he wants his team to be viewed both on and off the court.

Off the court I want my guys to be known as good guys, I want campus people to know that this

guy is a basketball players and he responsible, likable, nice, and a hard worker. Further on
Coach Martin briefly touches base on his recruiting process that ties directly back to how he

wants his players to be viewed. obviously they have to be a hooper, but I look for good guys

that work hard. Martin believes that when you have a hooper who is a hard worker off the

court, it will translate on the court as well. It will show that he will work hard to learn the plays,

the Xs and Os, and perform well academically so when basketball comes around they can

switch gears and focus on that. It was an interesting and refreshing take to hear a coach speak so

highly about how he wants his players to be viewed on such a positive level.

Following things up at the end it is always interesting to see what the coach is looking to

accomplish this year and in future years to come. I think in five years our goal is to win

conference championships, I usually don't believe in long term goals everyone has the same

goals long term, my goals are more short term oriented This is definitely a more interesting take

on future preparation and success for a program. Having a short term mindset is something that

is not very common, everyone is focused on that one long term goal which is to win a national

championship. Coach Martin has a much different approach which suits his coaching style very

well.

Assistant coach Gabe Miller is also on the main mindset of Martin as well when asked

the same question. The objective this year is not only to strive and win as many games as

possible but also to have our guys set a strong foundation in terms of Family, Attitude, Integrity,

Toughness and Humility. Once you have a strong foundation set as you look toward the future it

gives you opportunities to make anything possible in terms of success on and off the court. With

asking Assistant Coach Miller this one question he was able to tie everything Martin spoke about

perviously in one answer which shows great communication and understanding within the Loras

Basketball program. Both coaches are ready to tackle new endeavors this season with a group of
great players and are looking forward to a positive first year as part of the Loras College

DuHawk family.