2010 Headlines
3.24 - Miller to lead Men's Basketball
Trine University is welcoming a new men's head basketball coach who has more than 11 years of collegiate basketball experience, including serving as a graduate assistant coach to Bob Knight, the winningest coach in NCAA Division I history.
Brooks J. Miller of Levelland, Texas, accepted an offer from Trine University Thursday morning. He worked as an assistant under several head coaches who garnered five national titles. He earned a Bachelor of Science from Hillsdale College and a master’s degree in exercise sport science from Texas Tech University.
“He brings a young, enthusiastic and energetic approach and attitude to our institution, which we are very excited about,” said Earl D. Brooks II, Ph.D., president of Trine. “Coach Knight and I had an opportunity to talk about Brooks over a year ago and he said that he was an excellent student of the game and was a rising star that will make a great head coach one day.”
Miller's basketball career started when he was a player at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio and at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Mich. He was team captain, Academic All-Conference, team defensive player of the year and a two-time NCAA Division II National Tournament participant.
After college, Miller worked as the head assistant men's basketball coach at Hillsdale College. He coached and recruited five All-Conference players and worked as head of scouting and recruiting.
“Coach Miller’s career experiences, knowledge of the game and education suit him for the job as the university’s head basketball coach,” said Jeff Posendek, Trine’s athletic director. “He will be an asset to Trine, but even more so, to our student-athletes. His vision is not to just coach them on the floor, but throughout their college careers, in the classroom and in the community,”
In 2007, his career took him to Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, where he served as an assistant coach to Bob Knight and was involved with on-campus recruiting and player development. In 2009, he became the head assistant men’s basketball coach and a faculty professor in physical education at South Plains College in Levelland. He also worked as the director of the Texan Basketball Camp and served as the national recruiting coordinator.
“My experience as a collegiate coach combined with my many years of recruiting athletes has helped me develop a strong understanding of what it takes to motivate these young men to accomplish their goals at the highest level,” Miller said.
Miller intends to use his proven recruiting skills to enhance Trine’s basketball program and bring top-notch student-athletes to play at Trine. He wants to continue to build on Trine’s athletic successes in past years and be able to hang an NCAA Division III national title banner on the walls of Hershey Hall.
“I have a genuine passion for being a positive influence in the lives of the young men that I coach,” Miller said. “I am a tireless worker who can help guide their futures and mold them into successful graduates and ambassadors of Trine University.”
6.25 - Trine to Host 2012 Championship
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - For the first-time in school history, Trine University will host an NCAA national championship event.
The NCAA announced today that Trine will host the 2012 Women’s Golf National Championship. The championship is tentatively scheduled for May 8-11 or May 9-12.
This will mark the sixth time overall the Thunder have hosted a national championship event. As an NAIA program, the Thunder hosted the 1987, 1990 and 1992 Men’s golf National Championships. Hershey Hall was the venue for the 1996 and 1997 Women’s Basketball Division II National Championships. Trine also hosted the Division III Midwest Wrestling Regional in 2009.
6.15 Community Invited to Historic Event
Trine University has proclaimed its season opening football game “Community Night” as part of the ceremonies unveiling brand-new Fred Zollner Stadium.
The Thunder will face intrastate rival Manchester September 2, at 7:30 p.m.
The game also features special reduced ticket prices for all. All students and senior citizens (62 and older) receive free admission with adult tickets reduced to $3.00.
The game will feature a number of pre-game, half-time and post-game events that promise to make this an historic night in the history of Trine University. The event also marks the first collegiate night game ever held on Trine’s campus.
6.10 - Trine Coach Reaching Out Through Free Youth Camps
The summer tennis camps in Hamilton have been as much a part of summer as swimming and fireworks. Trine tennis coach Bill Maddock has been an active part of it nearly from the start.
The tradition continued this week at Gnagy Park, with Maddock Thunder player Melanie Sobeske directing the week-long camp.
In 13 summers, Maddock and his players have become like pied pipers for the sport, attracting more than 500 students in grades 2-12 to instruction.
“Most of these kids have never seen a court or tennis pro, and for some of these kids it’s the only week of the year they play tennis,” Maddock said. “But it amazes me as an educator how much they remember.”
“It’s a great asset for the community,” Hamilton Park Board Director of Tennis and Trails Brad Stevens said. “It’s a life-long sport that we are introducing to kids. While they may never play in high school or college, it’s something they can do for the rest of their lives.”
Maddock’s excitement is apparent to everyone. Early in the morning, the camp focuses on the younger students and advances as the day goes on. Whether it’s a fun drill like king of the court, where students battle to hold serve against aggressive defenders, or just taking the time to engage students personally by calling them by name, “the kids thrive on it and somehow Bill is able to assign names to faces year after year,” Stevens said. “We think it’s wonderful that we can have a coach like Bill and his players invest in our community and our kids.”
“The kids always remember me, and I quickly remember them,” Maddock said. “It keeps me mindful of what it takes to teach young people. As a physical education professor I ask, ‘Am I teaching them to play, or (are) they teaching me how to teach?’”
6.1 - Angola Mayor proclaims Thunder Softball Day
Mayor Hickman visited the office of Trine University President Earl D. Brooks II to present the president, Athletic Director Jeff Posendek and softball coach Donnie Danklefsen a framed copy of the proclamation.
The Thunder women’s softball team claimed the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) regular season championship in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and the MIAA tournament championship in 2007, 2008 and 2010.
They have advanced to the NCAA post-season tournament for four consecutive seasons, advancing to the regional final, the highest level in school history, this year. The Thunder defeated Thomas More and Transylvania at the tournament in Greencastle, Ind., before falling to Washington University.
Players Rachel Wisman and Tori Bluhm were named to the all-tournament team at the regional, and pitcher Andi Gasco was an at-large third-team selection for the 2010 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III All-Central Region team.
Mayor Hickman congratulated Trine Athletics on another great softball season. “The Thunder softball team represents themselves, the university and the city with the utmost dignity,” he read from the framed certificate.
“We are proud of our athletes, who put everything they have into every game, while adhering to a high academic standard,” Posendek said. “The Thunder softball team demonstrates that high goals can be reached if you seize the opportunity.”
4.12 - Wozniak Named Volleyball Coach
Trine University has named Jamie Wozniak head women’s volleyball coach, the university announced today.
“Coach Wozniak gives us fresh perspective and new direction,” athletic director Jeff Posendek said. “She’s been a successful player at the collegiate level and has a unique understanding of volleyball. We are excited to have her. She’s goal oriented and is passionate about the game. The players have indicated they are confident she can guide their Lady Thunder volleyball team into contention as a strong member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association.”
Coach Wozniak has shown great success in developing the Victors Volleyball club program, and successful experience as the head coach of elite and national teams. She was previously an assistant coach at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where she recruited one of the largest incoming classes in the 27-year history of the program.
In February she was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) as one of the 2010 Thirty Under 30 Award recipients. The award honors up-and-coming volleyball coaches younger than 30 years old in the sport at all levels of the game.The AVCA highlighted her efforts in mentoring two players to all-conference status last season.
During her tenure as a player at Michigan-Dearborn, she played outside hitter and was a solo captain for two of the most successful seasons in the history of the program. She was Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) player of the week, won the Michigan-Dearborn Coaches’ Award twice, was a member of the WHAC all-conference team in 2006 and earned the Special Program Achievement Award in 2007.
She looks to set the bar high for the Thunder, with a commitment to fundamentals, hard work and operating as a unit.
