Coach Leads with Same Drive, New Perspective

February 20, 2019

By Steve Vedder
Special for Second Half

Colleen Nagel can only shake her head when one of her former Grand Rapids Catholic Central basketball players offers an observation after dropping by a Cougars practice.

Now in her 30th year of coaching, and first season of her second stint at Catholic Central, the former Colleen Lamoreaux-Tate admits to the subtle changes that three decades on the bench have brought.

Those changes don't include the lessening of competitive fires which still burn bright or the importance of the relationships with the players or teaching of the game.

But make no mistake, there are differences – changes that have only come through self-reflection. Known as one of the most fiery coaches in Grand Rapids, Nagel still has high expectations for her teams. But time, a shuffling of personal priorities and the wisdom of age has changed Nagel, who surpassed the career 360-win total last week.

"I'll have some of my former players stop by, and they say I'm nicer," Nagel laughs. "You get older and slow down, and it's a different kind of time now. I've always said if you can't evolve with time, you need to get out."

A case in point came a couple weeks ago when the Cougars, on the verge of taking charge of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue championship race, suffered a crushing one-point loss to Coopersville after inexplicably falling behind by 23 points at the half. The team also dropped a one-point decision to West Catholic after hammering the Falcons by 30 in the teams' first meeting.

Nagel said her reaction to those losses differs from how she would have handled them during her first seven-year coaching stint at Catholic Central. During that tenure, the Cougars went 167-19, including notching arguably the greatest win in Grand Rapids girls basketball history when the Cougars stunned then 10-time (now 13-time) MHSAA Finals champion Detroit Country Day 51-43 in the 2010 Class B championship game.

Instead of driving her teams even harder after such losses, Nagel said she has the wisdom to use them as a teaching tool.

It's all about age and reflection, she said. The combination of a second marriage, a new job outside basketball, the responsibility and joy of coaching her daughter, the experience of three years coaching at Ferris State University and the recognition that teenage athletes and their parents have changed over the years have caused Nagel to take a hard second look at how she coaches.

Nagel said her conclusions may have left her a better coach, but definitely a person who finds herself examining the big picture over her own immediate surroundings.

Which isn't to say the drive to win has passed her by. What she will say is that 30 years after her first bench position as West Catholic's freshmen coach in 1989, the game remains as fun as ever.

"Kids change, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing at all," she said. "I probably don't yell in practice and in the games like I used to. But I've always said you have to evaluate yourself, and I'm absolutely still having fun."

While winning still ranks near the top of her priorities, Nagel said what drives her now – both on the court and off – is the quest for balance. While still possessing a love of coaching, Nagel said family and professional happiness off the court is what she seeks. As for winning, that candle still burns – but it's no longer consuming.

"I will never think winning isn't important. I'll always think my team needs to be in it until the end," she said. "But you can be consumed with things when you should be trying to find a balance in your life. (College) was 24/7 for me, and because of that I began to reflect and I realized life should be a balance. My priority should be my family."

That's probably the No. 1 lesson that came out of coaching three years at Ferris State after leaving Catholic Central in 2012.

"You're always thinking the grass might be greener," Nagel said of making that move.

What she found was the grass wasn't greener. Nagel said the endless fundraising, the long recruiting trail and the year-round duties of a college coach wound up being more than she wanted.

Nagel was content to be out of the game while watching her daughter, Katie, play on the Catholic Central varsity as a freshman a year ago. But when then-coach Trevor Hinshaw decided to devote more time to his family and athletic director duties after going 120-28 in the six seasons after replacing Nagel, she saw an opportunity to return to a familiar post.

She had turned down the job once when she didn't want people thinking Katie had made varsity as a freshman because her mother was the coach. But Nagel couldn't pass on the opportunity when Hinshaw asked again.

"She's such a great competitor, coach and teacher," Hinshaw said of Nagel, who as a member of the search committee recommended Hinshaw for the job after leaving for Ferris State. "The relationship she builds with players is one of the keys why her teams excel on the court. It's the combination of a lot of things which make her a good coach."

Because she recognizes the growth in herself over the last few years, Nagel said she enjoys coaching as much as ever, particularly in the MHSAA Tournament. In addition to the win over Country Day in 2010, Catholic Central had a pair of Class B runner-up finishes in 2009 and 2012. Her 2002 East Grand Rapids team also finished second.

This season’s team is 11-5 overall and tied for first in the O-K Blue, with a chance at another postseason run when Districts begin in two weeks.

"It's the backbone of everything I coach for," she said of the postseason. "I want my teams to be as ready for the tournament like I always did.

"But you can drive yourself crazy in saying, 'This is what we should be doing. How can I create what we need to do?'  You evolve with time. I'm not saying I still won't yell at referees or whomever. But like a parent, you should become smarter.

"You need to see that times change. There's still a right way to play – you hustle, have a good attitude and if you knock someone down you pick them up. But you evolve."

PHOTOS: (Top) Colleen Nagel returned to coaching Grand Rapids Catholic Central this season, including her sophomore daughter Katie Tate. (Middle) Nagel guides her team during the 2012 Class B Final. (Top photo courtesy of the Nagel family.)

Senior-Freshman Combo has Hackett Catholic Prep Surging Toward Postseason

By Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com

February 18, 2025

KALAMAZOO – Senior captain Addie Smucker is a stats stuffer who rarely leaves the floor.

Southwest CorridorFreshman Lucy Young already set a school record, scored a triple-double and received her first Division I college offer.

The veteran and the rookie phenom are instrumental in Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep’s amazing basketball season.

“This team has done more than we expected them to do,” coach Erin Gallagher said. “Our expectations were set with (our previous) teams.

“With Lucy coming in this year, you don’t count on your freshman leading scoring, averaging 23 points a game and (scoring) a school-record 41 against Kalamazoo Christian.”

After four games in six days, the Irish take an 18-2 mark and school record 16-game winning streak into the final weeks of the regular season, hoping to carry their success into MHSAA District play next month.

Smucker is the most consistent on the team, averaging 8.7 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals a game. She and Natalie Burhans are the only seniors on the team.

“Addie’s steals and assists turn to points for other girls,” Gallagher said.

Smucker averages 28 minutes a game, and it is not unusual to see her on the court all 32 minutes.

Smucker (2) takes on a pair of defenders during the Irish’s Feb. 7 win over Lawton. “If she didn’t get in foul trouble, she’d probably have more 32-minute games,” Gallagher added, smiling. “Over half her games, she’s played all 32 minutes in four years.”

At 6-foot-2, Young is the tallest player on the team, and if she continues scoring her average, could hit the 500-point mark by the end of the season and reach the magical 1,000-point career milestone during her sophomore year.

“Lucy’s biggest adjustment has been defense,” Gallagher said. “As a scorer, she comes in as a senior but as a defender she comes in a little bit like a freshman because (she hasn’t) played the fast pace like (varsity).”

Young said she had no idea she would start her high school hoops career on varsity.

“I was so nervous,” she said. “My first game (Smucker) asked if I was ready, and I told her I was so nervous.

“It was honestly nerve-wracking, but I know I can lean on my teammates and they can help me through the game. It’s been a really fun season.”

Young did not realize she set a school record with her 41 points against Kalamazoo Christian, a game that Smucker iced with a free throw during the final seconds.

The 56-55 win was the first for the Irish over K-Christian in four years (nine games).

“When they post me up, it’s a little easier to score,” Young said. “I do like to block shots, very carefully, of course. 

Young (34) gets to the basket against Lawton. “I always know where (Addie) is on the court and if I’m stuck in the post, I can pass it back to her. She has a great shot. Whenever she steals the ball, I know I can just run down the court and she can pass it to me, so I feel we complement each other well.”

Young’s triple-double came in a 55-31 win over Maple City Glen Lake when she recorded 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 steals.

Young said her strengths include “driving to the basket and posting up, using my height as an advantage to score. Maybe a little bit of passing, too. I can sometimes find some people in the corner and they can shoot it.”

Putting up such impressive numbers, Young has attracted the attention of several college coaches and got her first scholarship offer from Division I Western Michigan.

“ I was so proud, so happy,” she said. “That’s something I was working for because I really want to play in college.

“That’s my dream. It just felt like all the stars aligned. It was so cool. I was so happy.”

Young played volleyball in the fall and said that helped her get in shape for basketball.

“Volleyball can be fast-paced, but you don’t really move a lot,” she said. “I stay up at the net most of the time, so I only move side to side.

“Basketball is also fast-paced, but you’re sprinting, changing direction.”

Although Smucker is making her mark on the basketball team, soccer is her first love. She earned third-team all-state honors her sophomore year and first team last year.

“I’d say basketball is harder to get ready for because it’s more quick-paced,” Smucker said. “In soccer, you’re still running but it’s for a longer distance.”

She said she brings a common strength to her two sports.

“I feel like I’m a good passer,” she said. “In basketball, I’m always looking for Lucy and the same with soccer.

Gallagher is celebrated on-court after his 100th win.“That’s one thing I translate from both, looking for my teammates, the good pass.”

The team’s success also led to a milestone for Gallagher.

Hackett’s victory over Schoolcraft on Jan. 31 was the coach’s 100th varsity win, all at Hackett.

“I didn’t know even where I was at until two years ago when we made the (Division 4) Quarterfinals and had to turn in our stats to the MHSAA. I was 70-something,” he said. “Last year we won 16 and (during this season) coach Jared Butler asked where I was at and it was 97, so then I was keeping track from there. I didn’t want to miss that.”

While Young is getting much of the attention, Gallagher points out that everyone on the team is contributing.

“We don’t win those last few games without Addie putting in 10 points, (junior) Leah Smith putting in 10 points a game, (junior) Marissa Toweson’s hitting some big shots for us, timely shots.

“(Junior) Erin Cook has probably sacrificed more than anyone this year. As a freshman, we brought her up halfway through the season because we needed a post player and she just played defense and scored when she was able. Her defense and her rebounding have been incredible for us.

“Everybody has played very well all year. (Junior) Bethany Carpenter can score two points a game and have the biggest impact on the game. She is on the other team’s best player every single game.”

Young is not the only tall player in the lineup. Junior Lily Arechiga is 6 feet, Cook 5-11, and Smucker and Carpenter each 5-10. 

“They’re all really good teammates,” Gallagher said. “I think this is the best group I’ve had. They all get along, which makes it easier to coach.”

Pam ShebestPam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.

PHOTOS (Top) From left, Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep's Addie Smucker, coach Erin Gallagher and Lucy Young chat during a recent practice. (2) Smucker (2) takes on a pair of defenders during the Irish’s Feb. 7 win over Lawton. (3) Young (34) gets to the basket against Lawton. (4) Gallagher is celebrated on-court after his 100th win. (Top photo by Pam Shebest. Action photos by Chris Ogrin. Gallagher celebration photo by Rachel Ogrin.)