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, Assistant Coach Andrea Johnson, 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 later progressed to coaching at the high school level, 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 addition to some time spent coaching Girls Varsity Tennis. After his tenure at John Glenn, he transitioned into coaching middle school basketball at Faith Lutheran School in Bay City 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.”
Andrea Johnson – Varsity Assistant Coach
Coach Johnson grew up in The Basketball State, Indiana, so her involvement in basketball only makes sense! Coach Johnson returns to the VL Women’s Basketball coaching staff after acting as interim head coach last season.
She played basketball during all four years of high school at Lutheran High School of Indianapolis, and continued her playing career at Concordia University Ann Arbor. Coach Johnson began her coaching career at her first Call to Zion Lutheran School in Bethalto, IL, and then continued at St. Peter Lutheran School in Macomb, MI. She was the varsity assistant coach for one year at Lutheran High School North, but then moved to Frankenmuth where she still teaches at St. Lorenz Lutheran School. Andrea was in charge of the girls basketball program at St. Lorenz for 7 years, when she took a step back from coaching, or so she thought. God’s plan is perfect, and in her “off” season she stepped into the interim Varsity Head Coach for the girls team at VLHS. She is excited to continue her coaching role at Valley as an assistant coach to Coach Townsend. Coach Johnson has the following to say about coaching at VLHS, “Being able to work with such amazing, Christian young women who have the desire to grow in their skills but even more so in their faith is one of the biggest blessings of coaching. This community is special, and I am honored to be a part of it moving forward.”
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.”