Varsity

Email

mustangbasketball941@gmail.com

Coach Chris Kawcak has been coaching various sports for over 30 years. Kawcak has coached football and basketball from travel teams to high school programs. He was also a player coach for an NBA Pro-Am summer team in Houston Texas. “From a high school basketball perspective, I started in 2003 initially as an assistant coach at Bradenton Christian.  I was there for five years where we went to the Final 4 three times in those five years. I was fortunate enough to learn from David Magley who played at Kansas, was drafted to the NBA and had a great wealth of knowledge to share” stated by Kawcak. After this, he was then selected to be the head coach here at Lakewood Ranch in 2008.  The team had won six games in the prior year.  During Kawcak’s three years they improved every year and last season they won 20 games, they were district runner-up and made the State Series playoffs.  The team, however, lost in the first round to a top ranked and eventual Final 4 team Tampa Blake by three points.  After leaving Lakewood Ranch for job related reasons, He moved around and lived in several different states, but continued to coach travel ball.  Kawcak moved back to the area in August of 2020 and was an Assistant Varsity Coach at Bradenton Christian this last season where they were district champions. Kawcak decided to move back to LRHS because, “I was the Head Coach here before and I truly believe it's one of the best jobs in the area.  You have a great school, a strong academic tradition, a very supportive parent group and a strong athletic talent to work with.  Why would I want to be anywhere else.” 

“To me the most important aspect of basketball is mental discipline. The game comes at you at a very fast pace, so you must be disciplined in how you react to that pace.  Mental preparation is as important as physical preparation” Said Kawcak.  

Chris Kawcak
Head Coach