One Falcon will return to the nest this winter to coach the boys basketball team.
Brad Valentine graduated from Kentlake High School in 2008.
While at Kentlake, the Falcons finished 10th in the state his senior year.
“I feel a strong sense of pride coming back to my alma mater,” Valentine said. “I feel that being an alum I know what it means to be a student athlete at Kentlake, it holds a place in my heart that I will cherish forever.”
Following high school, Valentine played two years of ball at Bellevue College and began his coaching career in 2009.
And for the past five years, he has been coaching the Kentwood Conks. He spent the last four as an assistant under Blake Solomon.
“Brad is a someone who is extremely passionate about the game of basketball and about the overall well-being of the student-athletes,” Solomon said.
He added, Valentine is a “big part of our (Kentwood’s) success the past four years and I am excited for him and the Kentlake program.”
This will be the first season that Valentine has been a head coach.
“I always wanted a way to continue to have basketball in my life after I was done playing. Coaching then became something that I liked doing more than playing,” Valentine said.
He added he wants to be a head coach so he can build his own program.
“Returning home to the school where I played was something I always dreamed of,” he added.
Bruce Rick, Athletic Director at Kentlake, said Valentine “impressed the interview team immensely.”
“Coming back to his old stomping grounds makes it extra exciting for him in his first head coaching experience,” Rick added.
Last season the Falcons finished at .500 with a 12-12 record. Four varsity players will return for the 2016-2017 season.
Valentine said summer basketball for the Falcons will begin at the end of May and will run through June.
“This summer will be key to implementing my core values and making sure that we are getting better every day,” he said. “Having the kids running my system and getting to know them will be instrumental to our success in the winter.”
