He's now an assistant on the staff of head coach Tom Triggs, but Joe Hasenfuss used to be at the helm of the York Suburban boys' basketball team, winning more than 500 games during that time.
Despite all of that success, Hasenfuss had never been a part of a district championship team during his coaching career -- until Thursday night.
Considering how many players Hasenfuss had seen and coached over the years, I wanted to get his perspective on this year's group and try to gain some insight as to what made this particular team a championship team in his eyes.
"They are good kids to work with," Hasenfuss said. "Great kids. They are very self-motivated. They work hard. When they're not doing well, they don't quit. They really are persistent. They have a lot of energy, they are very focused and they are very close to one another."
Hasenfuss joined the Suburban staff three years ago. He said he saw the potential of a district championship team right away with players like Mitch Kemp and Ryan Kinard already making an impact on the varsity floor as sophomores. Teammates like Tom McInerney, Cole Wagner, Byron Thompson, Roland Boyer and Kevin Donahue have stepped in to complete the puzzle.
"Everybody plays their role real well," Hasenfuss said. "They accept it and they step up and they execute their role."
Please do not mention players unless you mention all. How would you feel if you were one of the unmentioned players that were not given the opportunity to show what they can do because they got very little play time? I really have a problem with this. Every single one of those kids are devoted and every single one practices the same, so with that said, each and every one of them should have had the opportunity to play more than 2-3 minutes a game! Please don't respond by telling me it's all about winning because I'm well aware of this, which in my opinion is the problem with high school sports. Win at any cost with no regard to these kids feelings!