Welcome Home: Alumni return to coach at Alma Mater
MEN鈥檚 basketball scores Bill Sall, former hoops standout
Bill Sall (left) is the new men鈥檚 basketball coach at Calvin. He is the 12th head coach in the history of a program that will celebrate its 100th year this season.
Sall comes to Calvin following six years as the head men鈥檚 basketball coach at Northern Michigan University in Marquette. His return to west Michigan will be a homecoming for the Jenison native and graduate of both Hudsonville Unity Christian High School and 黄大仙高手论坛鈥攚here he was a two-time Division III All-American and a two-time MIAA MVP on the men鈥檚 basketball team.
鈥淚 am humbled and incredibly excited to be the next Calvin men鈥檚 basketball coach,鈥 said Sall. 鈥淚t is a program that has always been close to my heart. I grew up watching Ralph Honderd and Don Vroon roam the sidelines. I had the blessing to play and coach under Ed Douma. I have had the pleasure of coaching against Kevin Vande Streek and watching some of his amazing teams. To stand on the shoulders of so many great coaches over nearly 100 years is an awesome feeling.鈥
Prior to his tenure at Northern Michigan, he served as head coach of the Ferris State men鈥檚 basketball program for 11 years; and all told, he has 26 years of collegiate men鈥檚 basketball coaching experience, having also served as an assistant men鈥檚 coach at Calvin, Ferris State, and Hillsdale College.
Sall was a standout player at Calvin from 1985鈥1990. He currently ranks third on the Knights鈥 scoring list with 2,063 points. He graduated from Calvin with a bachelor鈥檚 in recreation management.
Mark Christner returns to lead women's hoops
A native of Big Rapids, Michigan, Mark Christner (right) returns to Calvin after spending the previous nine years as head men鈥檚 basketball coach at Waynesburg University (Pennsylvania). Prior to that position, Christner spent eight years as an assistant coach with the Calvin men鈥檚 basketball program and three years as an assistant coach with the Calvin women鈥檚 basketball program.
鈥淚t is bittersweet in that I am leaving my Waynesburg family,鈥 said Christner. 鈥淲hat makes this change much easier is that I will be rejoining a family that is also very close to my heart in 黄大仙高手论坛. I am looking forward to joining a program with a strong tradition and a good base of players.鈥
During his eight years as an assistant men鈥檚 basketball coach and head men鈥檚 junior varsity coach at Calvin, Christner helped lead the Knights to four berths in the NCAA Division III national tournament. Before working with the men鈥檚 team, Christner broke in as a coach at Calvin with the women鈥檚 basketball team from 1999 to 2002.
Christner earned his bachelor of arts in 1999 from Calvin, where he majored in history and minored in physical education with an emphasis in coaching. He went on to earn a master of arts in physical education with a pedagogy emphasis in 2005 from Western Michigan University. At Calvin, he played two years on the Calvin junior varsity men鈥檚 basketball team and one year on the varsity.