Rogers announces new boys basketball coach. He has over a decade of Division I experience
It shouldn’t take long for the new boys basketball coach at Rogers High School to come up with a practice plan. He’s devised a few over the years, after all.
Joe Callero, who has head coaching stops at Puget Sound (1999-2001) as well as Division-I Seattle University (01-09) and Cal Poly (09-19), will be the new coach of the Rams, the school announced Monday.
“There’s only so much golf and home chores you can do before I need to do something,” said the 58-year-old Callero. “I have plenty of energy to give to the kids.”
Callero is from the area. He graduated from Enumclaw High School in 1981. Since he was let go by Cal Poly in 2019, he’s been running occasional basketball clinics for point guards out of a gym in Kent. He discovered again how much he enjoyed working with high school athletes.
“It was really rewarding,” he said. “The more I did it, the more excited I got about helping kids out, seeing how coachable kids are. … They were so focused, mature, hungry. It was really rewarding to share your knowledge. I enjoy teaching. It’s the purest form to slow it down, break it down and teach the game.”
Callero said the grind of college coaching — the never-ending recruiting, constant travel, etc. — hasn’t burned him out just yet. It was more a case of not wanting to take an assistant coaching job or coach overseas. Now, he’ll be a 14-minute drive from Rogers High School.
“This is where our friends and family are,” Callero said. “I’ve been married 25 years. My wife (Erika) has done everything in the world to support my career. We’re in a position where we can be picky with our time and place.”
Callero coached at Cal Poly for 10 years, guiding the team to its first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance in 2014. He also helped guard David Nwaba become the first Cal Poly player to make the NBA.
At Rogers, he hopes to implement a program that values hard work and putting in extra hours.
“Success isn’t accidental — you’ve got to put time into it,” Callero said. “The No. 1 thing is more practice. Kids have to understand, they need to learn how to play the game. It’s not skilled enough. … Helping kids understand how much time it takes to be like Klay Thompson or Steph Curry. The hours it takes in the gym.”
Borrowing from the college and professional game, Callero envisions an open, modern offense at Rogers.
“Most of college basketball, the game doesn’t have a lot of low-post banging,” he said. “Kids don’t want to do that. It’s going to be very open basketball.”
He also wants to bring college technology into the high school — live video of every practice, every play, that can be viewed instantly on iPads or phones. Helping basketball players visualize things like shot technique, positioning on a certain play, etc., is more effective than just barking at them, Callero believes.
“That kind of commitment to technology, that’s an absolute for me,” Callero said. “It’s how kids learn best. The great teachers have the resources to be great teachers. They take time to teach the game. … The most modern coaching techniques at the college level are highly effective.”
Mostly, Callero is excited to get back on the sideline and mentor student-athletes, especially coming out of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think kids need a lot of encouragement right now, getting enthused about life, basketball, lifting weights,” he said. “It’s time to get off the phone and computer and get back onto courts.”
This story was originally published June 8, 2021 at 2:18 PM.
