Washington Boys Basketball

Sanchez uses Corridor Classic to rebuild Warriors

The Corridor Classic is a fairly meaningless high school basketball tournament in June, but it's an important early step for new coach Adam Sanchez as he tries to rebuild the Washington Warriors following a winless campaign last winter.

Washington defeated Des Moines Roosevelt and Kennedy and finished third in its pool with a 2-1 record Saturday. It doesn't erase the 0-and-21 mark from the 2011-12 season, but it could be a small step in the right direction.

"It's nice to know we can play with somebody," Sanchez said after the Warriors trimmed Kennedy in a pool game at Kennedy.

Sanchez thinks summer tournaments, camps and weekly instruction are vital in laying the groundwork for success.

"It's really, really important," he said. "One, for our guys to get a chance to play together, plus to learn a little bit about me and my personality and how I coach them.

"And the second thing we kind of talked about is just building some of their confidence, obviously after what happened last season. I think we're slowly doing it.

"Learning how to win is the first thing," he said. "It's a difficult thing to learn, and it's nice to learn it in the summer rather than trying to learn it in November and December."

Sanchez replaced Brad Metzger as Washington's head coach after Metzger resigned following the winless season. Sanchez was an assistant coach at Grand View University in Des Moines this past year and is now a head coach for the first time in his young career.

Sanchez and his family will not move to the Cedar Rapids area for several weeks, so he's been commuting from Des Moines to work with the Warriors. He conducted a camp at Washington during the first week of June and has been working with the high school players on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays to install his system.

He wants to spend as much time as he can with his new team. "As much as humanly possible," he remarked.

Washington will compete in another tournament this summer and Sanchez plans to arrange several scrimmages against teams in Des Moines and possibly other states. He likes what he's seen so far.

"The attitudes have been really, really good," he said. "The effort has been great. We haven't had any problems with that, as far as getting guys to buy in and getting them in the gym."

Des Moines Hoover, Southeast Polk and Iowa City West won their pools Saturday and will vie for the overall championship Sunday in the playoffs.

The 24-team tournament will resume Sunday at 9 a.m. at Kennedy and Jefferson, with the final rounds scheduled for 2 p.m. at both schools.

Linn-Mar finished second in its pool with a 2-1 record, Kennedy finished fourth in its pool with a 1-2 mark, Jefferson placed fifth in its pool with a 2-1 record, Prairie finished fifth in its pool with a 2-1 record and Xavier finished sixth in its pool with a 1-2 record.

POOL A

Round 1

Ankeny def. Benton Community
North Scott def. Xavier
Des Moines Hoover def. Jefferson
Iowa City High def. Williamsburg

Round 2

Ankeny def. North Scott
Des Moines Hoover def. Iowa City High
Xavier def. Benton Community
Jefferson def. Williamsburg

1st - Des Moines Hoover def. Ankeny
3rd - North Scott def. Iowa City High
5th - Jefferson def. Xavier
7th - Williamsburg def. Benton Community

POOL B

Round 1

Linn-Mar def. Ottumwa
Washington def. Des Moines Roosevelt
Southeast Polk def. Vinton-Shellsburg
Kennedy def. Muscatine

Round 2

Linn-Mar def. Washington
Southeast Polk def. Kennedy
Des Moines Roosevelt def. Ottumwa
Vinton-Shellsburg def. Muscatine

1st - Southeast Polk def. Linn-Mar
3rd - Washington def. Kennedy
5th - Des Moines Roosevelt def. Vinton-Shellsburg
7th - Ottumwa def. Muscatine

POOL C

Round 1

Iowa City West def. Burlington
Urbandale def. Solon
Bettendorf def. Prairie
Johnston def. Dubuque Hempstead

Round 2

Iowa City West def. Urbandale
Bettendorf def. Johnston
Solon def. Burlington
Prairie def. Dubuque Hempstead

1st - Iowa City West def. Bettendorf
3rd - Urbandale def. Johnston
5th - Prairie def. Solon
7th - Dubuque Hempstead def. Burlington

Sanchez inherits winless team at Washington

Adam Sanchez has a 3-year-old daughter and twin 1-year-old sons, so he has loads of experience with raising babies.

It could come in handy with his new job as the boys basketball coach at Cedar Rapids Washington.

Sanchez, 29, was officially named to the post Friday morning. He inherits a program that finished 0-and-21 this past season, so he'll have to raise these young Warriors and perhaps change a few diapers as he tries to rebuild the program.

"It begins immediately. But yeah, it will be a challenge," Sanchez said Friday afternoon, adding it's a challenge he gladly accepts.

Sanchez replaces Brad Metzger, who resigned March 23 after compiling a 48-45 record in four years with two trips to the Class 4A state tournament.

Sanchez grew up in Hudson and played basketball at Wartburg College. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Wartburg before moving to Drake University, where he was the director of basketball operations for Tom Davis, Keno Davis and Mark Phelps.

Sanchez has been an assistant coach at Grand View University in Des Moines the last three years. He has no head coaching experience, but impressed his new bosses at Washington.

"Adam Sanchez quickly rose to the top of the list because of his rich basketball experience and his engaging personality," Washington principal Ralph Plagman said Friday in a news release. "Our players will really enjoy playing for Coach Sanchez."

The Warriors had trouble scoring points last season and averaged just 42.4 per game. They had two games where they scored in the 20's and five others where they scored in the 30's, so there wasn't much firepower on the club.

Sean Bredl, Cybryan Moa and David Tann were the leading point-producers this past season as seniors, with Bredl leading the way at 7.1 points per game. Juniors Peter Holmes, Jason Oney and Brock Butterfield all averaged approximately 5.0 points.

Washington reached the Class 4A state tournament in 2010 and 2011 with Josh Oglesby and Wes Washpun, but the Warriors went into a steep decline this past season after Oglesby and Washpun left for college. They went through the entire season without winning a game, rarely coming close.

"Nobody can exactly put their finger on why or exactly what happened," said Sanchez.

Sanchez will continue to work at Grand View through the end of May, then make the full transition to Washington. He plans to meet with the Washington players next week and will run a summer camp that begins June 4 at Washington.

"Obviously this summer is going to be a big summer for us in building confidence and building that winning mindset," he said. "I definitely have an idea of what I'd like to do. I have to make sure all the pieces fit that puzzle."

Sanchez noted Washington has a rich tradition in boys basketball and said he hopes to build on that legacy. His new bosses are confident he will.

"Coach Sanchez will bring much enthusiasm, vast experiences and a great work ethic to Washington," said Paul James, Washington's athletic director.

Sanchez had two interviews with Washington school officials, the second time last Friday when his wife, Abby, accompanied him to Cedar Rapids. He accepted the job this week.

His teaching assignment has not been finalized.

Sanchez hopes to land job with Warriors

Adam Sanchez is only 29 years old, but he's already worked for five different college basketball coaches at Wartburg, Drake and Grand View.

Now he could be working for himself as the new boys basketball coach at Cedar Rapids Washington.

Sanchez was interviewed for the job by Washington officials earlier this week. He'll return to Cedar Rapids from Des Moines on Friday, and this time it was suggested by Washington officials that he bring his wife with him so they could get acquainted.

Washington principal Ralph Plagman and athletic director Paul James are looking for a successor to Brad Metzger, who resigned after a winless campaign this past season.

"They want me to come up again and have another conversation," Sanchez said Thursday night. "I know there's interest on both sides."

Sanchez has been an assistant men's basketball coach at Grand View University in Des Moines for the past three years. He played basketball at Wartburg College, then began his coaching career as an assistant at Wartburg for veteran coach Dick Peth.

Sanchez worked for Tom Davis, Keno Davis and Mark Phelps at Drake University before working for Denis Schaefer at Grand View, so he's been exposed to a variety of coaching styles and philosophies.

Sanchez said he's excited about the possibility of becoming a high school coach. As an assistant coach in college, he's required to make numerous trips for recruiting purposes and games.

"I have a young family now and I'm looking for a chance to stay at home a little more," he said.

Washington officials contacted Peth and asked questions about Sanchez during their search for a new coach.

"We certainly endorsed Adam, there's no question," Peth said Thursday morning. "Adam was like a sponge when he came to us as a player out of high school. He has a terrific basketball mind. I'm sure he'd do an excellent job for them."

Sanchez is from Hudson and his wife, Abby, is from Williamsburg. He said working in Cedar Rapids would be ideal for the family. "It would be great for the grandparents," he said.

Sanchez and his wife have a 3-year-old daughter, Taylor, and 1-year-old twins Tyson and Tenley.

Sanchez earned his bachelor's degree in elementary education from Wartburg and got his master's in educational leadership from Drake. If he gets the Washington job, he said he'd prefer to teach at the high school. "I'd like to be in the building," he said.

James said Wednesday night that Washington will not be able to name a new basketball coach until they've resolved the new coach's teaching position. "That's the one thing we need to address tomorrow," said Sanchez.

Sanchez is well aware that the Warriors did not win any games this past season. He's discussed that aspect of the job with Washington officials.

"It didn't take them long to tell me (about the winless season). They did not hide that fact," he said. "It's a challenge, obviously. As a coach, we have an ego that you can be
the one to turn the program around."

Sanchez said Washington officials have interviewed other candidates for the job. He said he doesn't know if he'll be offered the job or not.

"I wish I knew," he said.

Metzger quits as Wash basketball coach

Brad Metzger had three good reasons for resigning as the boys basketball coach at Cedar Rapids Washington on Friday.

Their names are Travis, Ty and Taden.

They are Metzger's three sons - ages 11, 9 and 6 - and they played a major role in his decision to retire after just four seasons as Washington's head coach.

The fourth reason is Sandra, his wife.

"Now that my three sons are all a little older and much more busy, I have to make a choice on how many hours outside the school day I can commit to a group other than my wife and children," Metzger said. "The hundreds of hours a year it takes to coach basketball forces a decision.

"I have decided that the most important years in my children's lives, in which I have an opportunity to mold them, may be the next few years. I simply do not want to miss those years.

"My wife has been an amazing coach's wife, and maybe she will be again someday. She has given enormous support and assistance to the cause of coaching."

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