Sedona boys basketball builds winning tradition1 min read

By
Jeff Bear
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Building a winning basketball program at a small school that has never had a great tradition of winning is a daunting task, to say the least. But Greg Strickling, entering his second year as boys basketball coach at Sedona Red Rock High School, is well on his way to doing just that.

Strickling, who coached previously at Chaparral and Salt River high schools in Scottsdale as well as Scottsdale Community College, has already succeeded in building excitement at the school and said he is implementing his vision for the program incrementally.

“I feel like my vision when we first came here, the full establishment of it will start to mature in about a year to two years,” he said. “That’s not to say that we’re not preparing to win state this year — we are — but that’s a piece of it.”

Strickling said it’s difficult to change the mindset of kids who have never even been to the postseason into believing that they can play for a championship.

“It’s just a process of getting everybody in the program expecting to win, expecting to get to the postseason, knowing how to perform in the postseason, and then learning how to be champions,” he said. “That takes a little time, but I think by the time our freshman class are seniors is when the seeds will have blossomed and the harvest will have come.”

For the full story, please see the Friday, Nov. 22, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.

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Jeff Bear

Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.

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Jeff Bear
Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.