Hoop Legend Now Coach: Zach Straining
Let me say this loud so the people in the back can hear it. Everybody celebrates the superstar. Everybody reposts the highlights. Everybody talks about who can score 30. But...
Let me say this loud so the people in the back can hear it.
Everybody celebrates the superstar. Everybody reposts the highlights. Everybody talks about who can score 30. But you want to know who really keeps this game alive. You want to know who carries basketball on his back when the lights are off and the cameras are gone.
Men like Zack Straining.
This is not just another assistant coach over at HACC Men’s Basketball. This is a former hooper who lived the grind. A former high school and college star who knows what it means to earn buckets, earn minutes, earn respect. And now he is pouring all of that into the next generation.
That matters.
He Is Not Coaching for Applause
Let me break something down. There are coaches who love the title. Then there are coaches who love the responsibility.
Zack Straining is the second one.
Integrity. Patience. Grit. Resilience. Those are not buzzwords to him. That is how he lives. That is how he played. That is how he teaches. When a young player is frustrated about minutes, Zack talks about work. When a kid thinks talent is enough, Zack talks about discipline. When life hits one of his players in the mouth, Zack talks about character.
He is not just building better guards and forwards. He is building better men.
And that is rare.
From Star Player to Servant Leader
See, it is easy to be the man when you are scoring. It is harder to step back and help somebody else shine. That transition separates the real ones from the ego driven ones.
Zack Straining made that transition with grace.
He went from being the guy who got the buckets to being the guy who teaches others how to get them. That takes humility. That takes maturity. That takes love for the game bigger than love for yourself.
You know what else it takes. Strength.
Because when you coach, you carry other people’s dreams. You carry their mistakes. Their struggles. Their confidence issues. Their off the court problems. And Zack does it with patience. Day after day. Practice after practice. Conversation after conversation.
That is leadership.
The Impact You Cannot Measure
Some impacts do not show up in box scores.
They show up when a kid who used to quit starts finishing drills.
They show up when a player learns how to control his emotions.
They show up when a young man starts believing in himself again.
That is what Zack Straining is doing at HACC.
He is giving these players structure in a world full of distractions. He is giving them accountability in a culture that avoids it. He is giving them belief when doubt tries to creep in.
You cannot put that in a stat sheet. But you feel it in a locker room. You see it in body language. You see it when a team fights a little harder because they do not want to let their coaches down.
Give This Man His Flowers
So let me say this clearly.
Zack Straining deserves his flowers.
Not just for what he did as a player. But for who he is now. A mentor. A teacher. A steady voice. A man showing young hoopers that toughness is not just physical. It is mental. It is emotional. It is spiritual.
Basketball needs men like this. Communities need men like this. Young athletes especially need men like this.
Because at the end of the day, the real win is not just the scoreboard. The real win is who these young men become after the game.
And Zack Straining is helping them become stronger, wiser, and more resilient every single day.
That is a legacy.
