Coach's Corner: Meet Glenbrook North's new head-coach-in-waiting

Sometimes even worse than losing is not being able to compete. Being relegated to the sidelines.

Such is the case for the new Glenbrook North head basketball coach Quin Hayes, who along with his team, has been temporarily put on hold by the phase three COVID-19 directive from the governor's office.

So, while we have a brief (we hope!) break in the basketball action, let's take a chance to meet the new head of the Spartan hoops program.

I remember watching Hayes in his high school playing days at St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights. At the time I was a freshman and sophomore coach for the arch rival Notre Dame Dons team, so I got a close-up look at the future coach-to-be and recall him as not only an outstanding player, but one that interestingly grew on as you time went by.

By this I mean (and I'm going back to the early nineties now) he was not the flashy young superstar with dramatic "Wow!" athletic talents that you saw right away and knew he was going to be a star. Instead, from sophomore year to senior year, he just got better and better. Kind of snuck up on us. By senior year he had (quietly) become such an outstanding athlete that he was named the East Suburban Catholic Conference player of the year. Quite an honor in one of the toughest conferences in the state.

But I do remember he could shoot. Oh boy, could he shoot! It seemed he never missed against us.

Hayes capitalized on his growing high school stardom by earning a division one scholarship to play at Monmouth University in New Jersey and played all four years for the Fighting Hawks.

That was Quin Hayes back then. But now? The young coach takes over the Spartan hoops head position and has the formidable challenge of keeping the rich tradition of winning basketball alive and well in Northbrook.

"Actually, that is exactly one of the things that drew me to this job," Hayes explained.

"I was well aware of the school's success in basketball, but even more so how ingrained the sport of basketball is in the Northbrook community. I have seen that firsthand in my early days here. Great school, great community," Hayes added.

For any first-year coach, getting to know players, getting a system put in and getting a staff put together is a tremendous challenge. That challenge has been increased multiple times by the current coronavirus restrictions. Normally summer is when a new coach can really start to get things going and put the foundation pieces into place. But not this summer.

"We got two weeks in the gym," said the coach, "but it was all noncontact, so we couldn't do any scrimmaging. Not even one-on-one or two-on-two drills. Just skill work and some 5-0 work running through plays and sets."

"A little frustrating, but really it was OK. We got to get to know the kids and start to develop some relationships and we were able to put our new system in a little bit. The guys on the team have handled it really well. They're young and resilient, and they'll be ready to go whenever that may be," added coach.

Hayes has restructured the staff as well. Ex-Spartan star Jordan Kardos takes over as head freshman coach along with Mike English. Longtime assistant varsity coach Brian McDonough takes over the sophomores with Kyle Pillmore, and CSL veteran coaching legend Jim Sullivan comes in as Hayes' varsity assistant.

No question he is stepping into some seriously oversized shoes. Hayes follows the long and successful careers of both Brian James (who went on to the NBA and now with Northwestern) and, of course, Dave Webber who just stepped down last year after 23 years at the helm and an IBCA Hall of Fame career including a 2005 state title and three other state tournament appearances.

But Coach Quin does not come in without his own rather impressive pedigree. He returned to his alma mater at St. Viator and, after one year as an assistant, took over the reigns as the head coach and proceeded to have a highly successful six-year run.

Hayes' Lions teams went 123-58 over his career there, winning regional titles in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. Last year's team was on a roll and ready to play for a sectional championship against the aforementioned Notre Dame, but the tournament, as we sadly recall, was abruptly ended midstream when the pandemic first hit full force.

His St. Viator teams were known for developing talent, competing hard, playing great defense and solid fundamental basketball. Expect more of the same from his future Spartan teams.

Speaking of future Spartan teams, this year's squad will feature young, exciting rising talents like Ryan Cohen, Grant Kosla, Blake Lidskin, and Brian Gordan - all to be led by senior Jeremy Gertz, who debuted as a sweet-shooting sophomore just a couple years ago and battled through some injuries last year.

"Jeremy has emerged as the clear leader in our program," said Hayes. "He provided some real leadership in the short time we have been in the gym."

In this current inactive period we have all become too familiar with the terms: "short time in the gym," "no-contact days" and "temporarily on hold" - all tough words for fans, coaches and particularly the players to hear. To make matters worse, this is traditionally the week when the high school hoops season would kick off with exciting Thanksgiving Tournament play. That, of course, is all put on pause for now.

But rest assured, when play is resumed, first-year coach Quin Hayes and his Spartan team will be ready and anxious - and as prepared as they can be.

Let the new era of Spartan basketball begin. Soon, please.

• Jon Cohn of Glenview is a coach, retired PE teacher, sports official and prep sports fan. Any topics you'd like to see him tackle? Email glenbrooknews@dailyherald.com and include "Coach's Corner" in the subject line.