Cradle of coaches
There were times during the 2001-02 Grove City College men's basketball season that Tanner Prosser, Andy Vlajkovich, Phil Bushre, Ryan Eller and Matt O'Brien shared the court.
On the surface, there isn't anything unusual about that. After all, they were attending school and playing basketball there.
The unusual part came years later.
Prosser, Vlajkovich, Bushre, Eller and O'Brien all are coaching basketball at the high school or college level.
They aren't the only ones.
Two women's basketball players from that season — Adrienne Orris and T.L. (Thompson) Eller — also are basketball coaches.
Since 2002, Grove City College has produced 13 graduates who are coaching basketball or are in administrative positions.
The coaching tree has many branches, extending through Pennsylvania, Ohio and all points of the compass.
“I can't explain it, but people coming out of Grove City are a different kind of breed,” said Orris, who finished her fifth season as the girls coach at Slippery Rock High. “You are drilled to give back and coaching is a way of doing that.”
Grove City College also is known for its Department of Education. Many former players are teachers and, by extension, coaches.
Grove City men's basketball coach Steve Lamie said he hoped some of his former players would go into coaching once they left the college.
“They are great kids and you know they'd do right by their kids,” Lamie said.
Lamie played at the college under John Barr and later was an assistant under the longtime coach.
“He wanted to be a coach of coaches,” Lamie said. “That's what I've tried to sell here, too.”
Lamie has been a good salesman.
Ryan Eller, a 2005 graduate and 1,000-point scorer for the Wolverines, now is a volunteer assistant under Lamie after serving as the head men's coach at Pitt-Titusville.
Unlike many of his teammates, he majored in business instead of education. That's made his transition into coaching more difficult because of work conflicts.“I always loved the game and knew somehow I'd be in it one way or another,” Ryan Eller said. “I had to get my fix.”While Lamie was an assistant, he was dating his future wife Melissa, who was the head coach of the women's team at Grove City College.When Lamie was promoted to head coach of the men's team, they formed what players called “The Lamie Bunch.” A basketball media guide depicted the coaches looking down at their players — their children — in a tribute to the opening of the TV show “The Brady Bunch.”That family atmosphere has been recreated elsewhere.Ryan Eller married T.L. Thompson, who is the girls coach at Grove City High.Basketball conversation is always in vogue in their household.“I'm just glad I'm married to someone who loves basketball as much as I do,” T.L. Eller said. “I'm just glad I'm married to someone who understands the sacrifices.”Prosser married Rachel Romance, who played for the women's team at GCC until she graduated in 2005. The Prossers coach the boys and girls programs at Berlin Brothersvalley High.Many of the players who became coaches keep in contact with Steve and Melissa Lamie.“Coach Lamie was a big influence, not just in coaching, but in life in general,” said Bushre, who is the boys coach at Slippery Rock High.Bushre said one of the reasons so many graduates become coaches is because of the emphasis Grove City College places on leadership.“There are so many alumni who are working in leadership positions,” Bushre said. “It's contagious.”Players who leave Grove City College are also battle-tested, Lamie said.As a Division III school, there are no scholarships. Combined with the high academic standards, basketball can be a grind for four years.“To play basketball at Grove City, you have to love it,” Orris said. “You have to work so hard. I think that makes better coaches because they know what it takes to succeed and know how to pass that on to their players.”
