Published: May 17, 2008 09:40 am         

Ginsberg replaces Cleland

St. Francis coach to devote more time to football

TRAVERSE CITY — Dave Ginsberg is not afraid of expectations.

That much was certain Friday when he was named the new boys basketball coach at St. Francis. The former Central Michigan University assistant replaces Pat Cleland, who stepped down so he could devote more time to the football program.

When Cleland introduced Ginsberg to the team around noon, he told the players “the coach standing next to me .... I truly believe will lead you to a state title next year.”

The Gladiators, 19-4 last season, return their top two players in Holden Greiner and Corey Williams.

“That’s a pretty high expectation,” Ginsberg said. “But I’m up for the challenge. There are a lot of good Class C teams out there. But I’d rather have that type of pressure instead of figuring out how you’re going to win a game.

“I told the kids, ‘If you have those type of expectations then you have to be ready to compete at the highest level. You can’t just talk about it. You have to believe. You have to sacrifice. You have to commit yourself to it.”

Cleland spent six seasons as the basketball coach. During that span, the Gladiators went 111-30. St. Francis won two Lake Michigan Conference championships and reached the Final Four in 2006.

“This decision has been incredibly emotional,” Cleland said. “It’s been a two-week process. Mike’s (superintendent Mike Buell) directive to me six years ago was to make the basketball program look like the football program. I said I would do that and when I did I would be ready to hand it off to the next person. I don’t have a big ego and I don’t need the label or state championship to validate the work I’ve put into it.

“But I don’t let it go, period, unless it’s this guy (Ginsberg). It had to be somebody special for me to let it go. He’s the right guy. He has more experience and knowledge of the game than I do. That’s why it’s easier to walk away — not easy, but easier.”

Cleland took a leave of absence during this past season for health reasons. He returned to St. Francis, where is the dean of students, about three weeks ago.

“I’m 100 percent healthy again,” he said. “I went downstate and they found a cure (for neurological pain discomfort). I’m back to the way I was. I feel like I’m 20 again. I’m running five days a week. I’m eating right. I’ve lost 30 pounds. With the change in medication, I feel I’ve been born again. It’s something I’ve had for life and now I don’t have to deal with it. It’s an amen moment for me. It’s been the prayers of the community that’s given me this miracle.”

This is the second high profile coaching change at St. Francis in the last couple weeks. Josh Sellers, who led the Gladiators to two state football championships in five seasons, resigned last week. The Sellers family will be moving to Tennessee, where Sellers’ wife, Heather, accepted a job promotion.

Cleland was the offensive coordinator under Sellers.

“I’m going to be much more involved in the football program,” Cleland said. “That doesn’t mean as head coach, so I hope people don’t jump to conclusions. That (new coach) will be determined the first week in June.

“This decision was made in the best interests of the kids. Right now the best interest is that I spend more time in the football program — to make sure there are no holes and that we stay on top.”

The Gladiators turned to Ginsberg in an effort to stay near the top in basketball.

Ginsberg, who turns 62 in two weeks, has coached basketball for 33 years, 16 as an assistant at Central Michigan. He was in Mount Pleasant during the Dan Majerle era.

After leaving CMU in 1991, Ginsberg took a break from coaching and teaching and worked as a jeweler, managing Osterman Jewelers in the Grand Traverse Mall.

“It was good,” he said. “It taught me a lot of lessons. But I missed working with young people.”

After two years in the business, he accepted a middle school teaching job in Flint, then became the boys head basketball coach at Swartz Creek. He also coach girls basketball at Flint Central for three seasons. In 2000, Ginsberg, who by then had become assistant princpal at Flint Central, took over the boys program at the school.

“My last year (2002) we had a great team,” he said. “We were ranked sixth in the state. We won the inaugural Traverse City West tournament. We had some really good young players. I thought we could be really something. Then, I had a heart attack.”

Ginsberg suffered the heart attack at his home in Traverse City.

“I had a quadruple bypass,” he said. “I had a stent put in. (Munson Medical Center) saved my life. I lost 100 pounds, fought back, but gave up coaching. I was afraid then with my heart. I didn’t want to get worked up.”

Once recovered, Ginsberg went back to work, accepting the principal’s job at Flint Southwestern Academy. He retired from there three years ago.

Since, he’s been traveling the country as a consultant, talking to managerial groups at seminars. His topics: Team building and coaching skills, and how to deal with difficult people.

“I’ve been averaging 12 (seminars) a month,” he said. “I did 145 last year. That’s a lot of traveling, a lot of flying, a lot of driving. I kept thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if I could calm down a little bit, get off the road, and maybe coach again.”

Now, he’s getting that chance.

Ginsberg watched the Gladiators play “four to five times” last season so he knows what type of talent he’s inheriting.

“This is an honor, a privilege,” he said. “I like the atmosphere, the environment here. And this school has really good talent. The student-athletes here are a cut above most Class C schools in Michigan.”

The St. Francis freshmen and JV teams both went 20-0 last season.

Matt Bauman, who stepped in as interim coach when Cleland took his leave, will remain on staff.

“I’m grateful,” said Ginsberg, who hopes to do some substitute teaching at the school. “I’m hoping when I leave that he’s the man.”