Dana Zupke was standing on the field where he learned to be a head coach.
Before his tenure started at Pinnacle, he was an assistant at Chaparral High School under Ron Estabrook, learning the ins and outs of leading a program.
Nearly a quarter-century later, he’s on the same field watching two of his former assistants leading their own programs.
Last week, Chaparral hosted Pinnacle and Seton Catholic in a 7-on-7 and big man tournament. It was an opportunity for the players to get some work in, but also a chance for former colleagues to reunite.
Trace Carroll is in his second year leading the Chaparral program after a long stint with the Pioneers. Matt Hanshaw, who took over the Seton Catholic program this offseason, was with Zupke for nine years before taking his first head coaching job.
They made it a point this summer to get their teams together and hope to make this a yearly occasion. They were there to get their teams some reps, but they also shared a couple laughs. While they are all navigating different schools and divisions, they stay in touch and trade any piece of advice they can to make sure each program can thrive.
Carroll and Hanshaw are also now sharing nuggets they learned from Zupke to their own assistant coaches.
Who knows?
Maybe this coaching tree has a few more branches added over the coming years.
Jordan Hamm
