New look for Trojan hoops Scott Behrs replacing father as Petaluma head court coach

There is a new head coach, a new assistant coach, a new Director of Basketball Operations, but no new people for the Petaluma High School basketball program.|

There is a new head coach, a new assistant coach, a new Director of Basketball Operations, but no new people for the Petaluma High School basketball program.

The new head coach is Scott Behrs, who switches places with his father, John Behrs. The father is now the varsity assistant coach, a position his son held for the past three seasons. Andy Isetta, who coached the Petaluma freshman team last season, is the new Director of Basketball Operations, performing many of the same administrative duties he handled unofficially last season.

Isetta says the goal is to make the Petaluma basketball program something special for the players, the parents, the students and the community.

“Petaluma is a great football school. It is a great baseball school. We want to make it a great basketball school as well,” he explains.

Both John and Scott Behrs point out that there will be no major changes in coaching philosophy or their coaching duties.

“Scott handled three-quarters of the practice,” John Behrs points out.

Scott Behrs will continue to handle the defense, while John Behrs works on the Trojans’ offense.

“The only change will be who stands up on the sidelines,” Scott Behrs says.

Scott Behrs played high school basketball at Casa Grande before moving on to Santa Rosa Junior College where he was the team’s Most Valuable Player in his second season. After SRJC, he moved with a basketball scholarship to Stanislaus State University. After college, he played in the American Basketball Association and in the San Francisco Pro-Am League before a blown knee ended his competitive career.

His original degree was in marketing, but, as his father tells the story, once Scott got a taste of coaching by helping him with a freshman team his career path changed.

“After two practices, he knew what he wanted to do with his life,” John Behrs says.

Scott Behrs went back to school and is now a certificated teacher and a head basketball coach.

Although the Trojans have yet to have a winning season under the Behrs’ coaching, both father and son are convinced that a foundation has for success has been placed by the dedication shown by this year’s team.

“The kids want to learn,” Scott Behrs says. “Up until the last game, they came to practice on time and they came to play.”

Eight players on this year’s varsity were underclassmen, including an entire potential starting lineup. But the veterans will have to earn their playing time.

There were several players that Scott Behrs says “are varsity ready” coming up from the junior varsity.

Then there is the ultra-talented freshman team that went 24-2 under the coaching of Isetta.

Equally encouraging, many of the players in the program are primarily basketball players. In the past, the Trojans have had to fill out teams with athletes who played basketball as an adjunct to their chosen sports.

“I can’t wait to get going,” says Scott Behrs. “We have a lot of basketball players who will be working hard this summer.”

Although John Behrs will continue to be heavily involved in coaching, having Scott as head coach and Isetta helping with program operations will relieve some of the pressure he has felt trying to run his independent contracting business and coach, a situation that was complicated by hip-replacement surgery last September.

While father and son will do the coaching, Isetta will help with the multitude of details, like pre-game set up, that go into making a program successful both on and off the court.

“We want to make the basketball experience special at Petaluma,” Isetta says. “We want to get the kids more involved in the community with clinics for younger kids and other community events.”

Braedon Ross, a former Petaluma High standout athlete, will return to coach the junior varsity. That, despite the switch of father and son on the varsity level, gives Petaluma the program consistency that has been lacking during the past several years.

“We’ve got a lot of good people in place,” Scott Behrs says. “We will track the progress from here.”

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