TRAVERSE CITY -- Traverse City St. Francis was looking for stability.
That was the theme Tuesday evening when athletic director Tom Hardy talked about the hires of girls basketball coach Bill Bayer and girls volleyball coach Jeff Bensley.
"One of the things we really tried to do with these hires was get people in place that emulate the mission of the school, and give the girls a great experience not only for this year, but for the next five years," Hardy said. "I feel we've found outstanding candidates.
"We always know life gets in the way, but when you have consistency, you have a better chance of building a program. And both of these programs really need that."
Bayer takes over for Mary Carney, who was only with the Glads one season.
Bayer arrived in northern Michigan last winter, taking a job at Hagerty Insurance.
"I came for a job, but I love it here," Bayer said. "As soon as I got here, I started looking for a basketball program to build, because that's what I did at Country Day. We're planning on retiring here, so I'm looking forward to spending years trying to build this program."
With 18 years of coaching experience, Bayer turned around the boys program at York Country Day in Pennsylvania. In his final three seasons at the school, he had a 58-18 record with three conference titles.
He also coached the York City Noise to a 14-1 record and the inaugural title in the WNBA developmental league.
"The talent level was amazing," Bayer said. "I had three players that played in a Final Four, and three or four players in their schools' Hall of Fame. They weren't doing it for the money, they just loved to play."
At St. Francis, Bayer plans to stress defense, rebounding and disciplined basketball.
"The whole mantra of the program is going to be win one possession at a time," Bayer said. "It's simple math."
Offensively, Bayer's teams will play a "read and react" style.
"Basically, we are going to teach you how to play basketball," Bayer said, addressing team members Tuesday. "We will run, but I hate turnovers. With run and gun basketball, you turn the ball over too much. You can win some games with it, but our goal is to put banners up."
Bensley is no stranger to Traverse City. A graduate of Traverse City High before the district split, Bensley graduated from Grand Valley State with a degree in education.
He is currently a seventh grade math teacher at Kingsley and has coached middle school volleyball for the last five years.
"The opportunity arose, and I live just a few blocks from here," Bensley said. "I was fortunate to get hired here and I'm excited to be part of the program and bring a little bit of consistency. I plan on living in Traverse City the rest of my life."
"He's a young coach that was ready to take the next step, but at Kingsley there was nowhere for him to go," Hardy said, adding that Stags varsity coach Dave Hall called to recommend Bensley for the job.
Bensley replaces Shannon Huetter, who led St. Francis to a district title last fall in her first year.
"I think it's the perfect fit," Bensley said. "I'm really excited to have the opportunity."
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