Streeter to coach new Clovis North school

When Rob Streeter accepted the head boys' basketball coach position at Douglas High School three years ago, he said he knew he'd taken the top job available in the Northern 4A.

Two weeks ago, a brand new school in talent-rich Central California swooped in and gave him a different opportunity.

Streeter announced Friday that he'd accepted the position of head basketball coach at Clovis North High School and basketball director for grades K-12 in the Clovis North Educational Center.

"It was a tough decision to make," Streeter said. "This opportunity came up out of nowhere and once my wife and I checked it out, we knew this would be a great situation."

Streeter joins a growing number of former Northern 4A coaches in the Clovis Unified School District with Tom Orlich (Clovis West boys), Craig Campbell (Clovis West girls) and Eric Swain (Buchanan.

It was Orlich and Swain that initially brought Streeter's name to the attention of the district.

"They had a local guy interested, but he ended up accepting a different position," Streeter said. "Just by circumstance, Tom and Eric threw my name out there and I got an e-mail a couple weeks ago from their vice principal asking if I'd be interested."

Streeter initially balked at the offer.

"I was flattered but I was perfectly happy where I was," he said. "I called Eric Swain to thank him for the recommendation and he just told me to make sure I did my homework on this to see what was going on.

"We took a weekend and ran down there, saw the campus and the facilities were phenomenal. We've been playing (summer tournaments) down there for two years, so we knew what the area was like and it seemed like a great fit."

Clovis North will open in the fall with seventh through ninth grades on a campus that will eventually accommodate 4,500 total students and 3,000 high school students.

This year, the Clovis North Broncos will play freshman ball only and move up to a small varsity league with schools like Edison and Hoover next year.

"When these incoming freshman are seniors, we'll be playing up in the Tri-Mac, which is with Clovis West and East," Streeter said. "It is a talent-rich area and I'll really get a chance to define what this program will be from the ground up."

Streeter compiled a 34-25 record in two seasons at Douglas and led the Tigers to the regional title game this year with a 23-9 record overall.

The Tigers won their first playoff game in 15 years under his direction and lost to Galena by only one point in the title game.

He came to Douglas after a number of successful years as head coach at Dayton and as an assistant at Carson.

"I loved it here," Streeter said. "The administration was so supportive. I'm happy here and my kids love it here. It was such a positive experience being here. I had great support from the administration and it's just been awesome.

"We had the potential to be a better team next year. One of the hardest things to leave will be the relationships.

"I love the kids here and it's a unique situation where all the coaches here care about one another's programs. We're more than just co-workers. We're friends. We have dinner at each other's houses and we care about each other's kids and we help each other out with yard work. I'm going to miss it."

Douglas High athletic director Jeff Evans said a search to replace Streeter will begin immediately. Assistant coach Phil Emm will take the team through the rest of summer ball, which continues this weekend with a tournament at Reno High.

"If you have success, good programs are going to come after you," Evans said. "It's a good move for him.

"We've heard a number of people are interested (in the Douglas position). We'll go by district policy and accept in-district applicants for the first two weeks and then open it up.

"This has to be one of the top positions in the state when you look at the AAU program that (former coach) Keith Lewis started and Rob continued. It goes all the way down to the fifth grade right now and maybe even third grade next year. With the group that's already coming through at the high school level, it's a very lucrative spot."

Streeter said he'll travel down next weekend and hold a meet-and-greet session with the incoming freshmen and then start up a summer program once school is out for the year.

"This is a unique school district in that they place an extremely high importance on athletics," he said. "They give you the tools to take it to the next level, but that comes with a certain expectation to work hard and be there for the kids.

"Up here, we're a one high school town, and that makes us very unique. They're trying to set that up down there. We're looking to get it so that kids know from the time they get into elementary school that they will be Broncos."