It was only six months ago, when David Kaplansky thought he said
his final good-bye to the San Benito basketball bench.
Hollister
It was only six months ago, when David Kaplansky thought he said his final good-bye to the San Benito basketball bench.
The longtime girls coach resigned in March because he wanted to spend more time with his young, and growing family. But six months later, Kaplansky will return to the San Benito bench to become the new head coach for the boys basketball team, replacing Tracy Carpenter, who left in May to coach in China.
It will be the second stint as the boys coach for Kaplansky, who spent four years, from 2001 to 2005, as the team’s coach.
In the past four season, though, Kaplansky was the coach for a girls team that won two Central Coast Section championships and a pair of Tri-County Athletic League championships. That success made his departure hard on the coach, who wanted to take the next step by spending more time with his family before pursuing a job at the college level, he said at the time.
Six months later, he started to get that coaching itch once again – and his old home at San Benito High had an opening.
After a long search, the San Benito athletic department had a tough time finding a new coach – the school thought the search ended last month before “application issues” with the candidate – so Kaplansky believed it was the perfect time to throw his hat back into the ring.
“This was not planned,” he said. “I decided to step up and help.”
With only five weeks before the official start of the season, a familiar face will only benefit the school, Athletic Director Tod Thatcher said.
“It if was somebody else it would be more difficult,” Thatcher said. “He knows the system. He knows the rules. He even knows some of the kids. I think he is a natural fit.”
Kaplansky will take over a program that hasn’t won a league title since his last year at the helm in 2004. The team finished 15-11 overall last year including a 9-3 record in the TCAL.
The Balers will return leading point-scorer Jordan Belton, who averaged 11.75 points per game in 20 games last year.
But Kaplansky will have to find a replacement for all-league selection Cooper Sepulveda.
Regardless, Kaplansky comes in with expectations that the team will continue to get better – and eventually have tournament and postseason success.
“I want to take what I’ve learned from the girls and bring that to the boys,” he said.
The transition will be different and difficult because of the bigger and stronger athletes of the boys’ league, Kaplansky said. To combat the high athletic ability of the Balers opponents, Kaplansky will implement a strong defensive approach to the Balers.
“I’ve always been a defensive coach,” he said. “To me defense creates offense. With the quality of the athletes you need to play good defense.”
And to help with the transition, and to still allow time for his young family, Kaplansky has built a “comprehensive” staff behind him.
Clint Quilter will continue to be Kaplansky’s assistant coach but Kaplansky will also bring in former Gilroy High coach Jeremy Dirks as an additional assistant coach.
Anthony Butler will be hired as the junior varsity coach and the freshmen will be coached by David Perez.
The strong staff is part of the reason why Kaplansky feels he can coach again – only six months after he originally left.
“I tried to create a staff that could support me and give me time with my family,” Kaplansky said.
Overall, Kaplansky has spent 12 years coaching at San Benito High.
