Jensen replaces DeBruycker at Batavia
After six years under Tim DeBruycker, the Batavia girls basketball program will have a new look when the team takes the court next November.
DeBruycker has resigned to spend more time with his daughter, and Kevin Jensen, an assistant with Batavia’s football team and part of the Batavia boys basketball staff, will take over.
“I stepped down to spend more time with my family — especially in the summer,” DeBruycker said. “My daughter used to be able to come with me to just about everything, but since I moved to Schaumburg two years ago that isn’t the case anymore.”
DeBruycker, a 1987 Batavia graduate, played three years of varsity basketball when he was in high school including two for current Bulldogs coach Jim Roberts.
“I have always loved Batavia basketball having played myself and will always love Batavia basketball,” DeBruycker said. “It was an honor to be a part of it both as a player and coach. I am thankful to Coach (and athletic director Mike) Gaspari for allowing me to coach at the varsity level.”
DeBruycker’s first season coaching the girls was 2005-06. He had some memorable teams, including the 2007-08 squad that defeated Geneva three times on their way to winning the Western Sun Conference championship.
DeBruycker will continue as the varsity boys golf coach, his ninth year on the job, and said he will consider coaching basketball again after his daughter graduates high school.
Jensen, who Gaspari called “an outstanding young coach from within our teaching and coaching staff,” has been a Batavia assistant football coach on the sophomore level and a member of the boys basketball staff at the freshman level the past two years.
“I can’t wait to do all the stuff on the court,” Jensen said. “Right now is getting camps planned and open gyms and shootouts, and all the things like that.
“One of the things I preached is I’m going to try my hardest to have great continuity through our program from grade school to junior high to high school so it isn’t totally different factions of Batavia basketball, so we are all preaching the same things. Hopefully that’s something I can get rolling in the right direction.”
Jensen, a 1999 Plano High School graduate, played on Plano’s basketball team as a senior that took fourth in state. He played two years of college football at Loras College and one year of basketball.
After graduating Jensen came back to Plano where he coached girls basketball in 2003-04 and was an assistant on the boys team in 2004-05. He then spent three years as an assistant boys coach at Oswego East before coming to Batavia.
At Plano, Jensen played for current Glenbard East boys basketball coach Scott Miller who just led the Rams to the Class 4A state tournament. Jensen said learning from Miller plus Roberts and Gaspari will serve him well.
“They all have had a real strong influence,” Jensen said. “I felt fortunate who I have been able to work with and play for. I’ve worked with two Hall of Fame coaches.”
Jensen also coached girls softball at both Plano and Oswego East.
He takes over a Batavia team that went 8-19 last year but only had 2 seniors. He said the Bulldogs will be strong at fundamentals while playing pressure defense and a variety of offenses.
“I hope you’ll see teams that when you walk away you say ‘That team sure played hard,’” Jensen said. “You’ll see teams that are great with fundamentals. We’ll run elements of motion offense, elements of swing offense, we will put a lot of pressure on other teams. I hope people will see a team that enjoys playing basketball and winning a lot of games. We’re going to do our best to create some cohesion in the program.”
Jensen said he wants his girls basketball program to build the same kind of community support that Roberts’ boys teams have done.
“I’d love to see fans in the seats that don’t necessarily have a daughter, granddaughter or niece on the team,” Jensen said. “The big thing I talked about, I want our players wearing Batavia girls basketball gear in the community and taking a page out of what Coach Roberts has built up in the years he has been here. If I can do a small part similar to what he has done I feel I’ll be successful.”