VLHS announces Coach Mark Townsend as the new Head Coach of the Women’s Basketball program. Coach Townsend’s staff includes Assistant Coach Chris Kube, Assistant Coach Tyler Hoyt, and JV Head Coach Dick Carroll. VLHS is grateful to Coach Andrea Johnson who served as Interim coach last season.
Mark Townsend – Varsity Head Coach
Townsend started his coaching career at the elementary level in the Bay City school system. He progressed to high school basketball at 20 years of age, coaching the Bay City John Glenn Bobcats for eight seasons on the Varsity and JV boys teams. During this time , he also coached Freshman, JV, and Varsity football in a variety of capacities. Additionally, he spent some time coaching the Girls Varsity Tennis at John Glenn. After his tenure at John Glenn, he transitioned into coaching middle school basketball at Faith Lutheran for seven years in a variety of roles.
Currently, Townsend will be starting his eighth season at Valley Lutheran. Coach Townsend has held a variety of positions within the Men’s Basketball Program at VL including JV Men’s Assistant, Freshman Men’s Head Coach, Varsity Assistant, and most recently, JV Men’s Head Coach where he had a combined 42-2 record over the past two seasons.
Coach Townsend and his family – wife, Kristin and daughters, Emily, Mackenzie, and Josephine – are members of Faith Lutheran Church in Bay City. Coach Townsend has expressed that Valley Lutheran has been his favorite place to coach because of what the Christian culture brings to the table. Townsend states, “You not only can work with kids to develop their athletic ability and life, but you can bring God into the conversation every single day. I am excited to work with the young women in the basketball program and truly appreciate the VL family for welcoming me, my wife, and our coaching staff into this new role.”
Chris Kube – Varsity Assistant Coach
Chris Kube has been coaching for over 40 years. Kube started at Handy High School as a varsity assistant back in the late 70s throughout the school’s closing. A few years later Coach Kube transitioned over to Bay City Central, where he acted as the Varsity Boys Assistant for many years. After a coaching change with the head coach at Bay City Central, Kube transitioned to Bay City John Glenn and coached there for just shy of a decade as a varsity and JV boys assistant. John Glenn is where Kube was introduced to Coach Townsend. He has moved with Townsend throughout his coaching career ever since, including since Townsend started at Valley Lutheran. Coach Kube says, “It is simple, Valley’s Christian atmosphere sets them apart from the rest.”
Tyler Hoyt – Varsity Assistant Coach
Coach Hoyt graduated from Bay City John Glenn High School in 2012, where he played four years of basketball. Hoyt began coaching basketball in 2013 at Faith Lutheran with Coach Townsend. He spent seven years with the program and then followed Coach Townsend to Valley Lutheran. This will be Coach Hoyt’s 6th season as an assistant basketball coach at Valley. Hoyt states that, “Valley Lutheran is a great place to coach because not only do these young men and women excel in the sports they play, they also excel in the classrooms becoming true Christian Student-Athletes.”
Dick Carroll – Junior Varsity Head Coach
Coach Carroll has been coaching for over 35 years. Coach Carroll has a long history at Valley Lutheran spending time in a variety of roles within the Women’s Basketball Program including 2 years as the freshman coach, 1 year as the varsity assistant, and 17 years as the JV head coach. During his time as the JV Head Coach at Valley Lutheran, he had back-to-back undefeated seasons, and 54 consecutive wins over 3 seasons. Coach Carroll states, “I certainly enjoy coaching and really don’t remember when I haven’t been coaching. I am very passionate about coaching at Valley and feel like I have helped to make the basketball program to be very respected. Off season work, open gyms, and player development is a goal of mine and I always hope that the girls buy into it.”