Coaching Staff

Varsity Head Coach - Phil Vesel

Coach Vesel has been the varsity coach at Southridge for 18 years. He has lead the program to 2 Metro League Titles and multiple trips to the State Tournament; finishing 4th twice. Coach Vesel has lead Hawk basketball to the play-offs 11 straight seasons with 8 2nd round appearances, & 4 Final 8 appearancs. Including a school record 25 win season in 2018. Many of Coach Vesel's former players have moved onto to play college basketball . Coach Vesel has spent countless hours building a vertically integrated program spanning from 5th grade to high school. Hawk basketball & its' players are part of his family.

Phil Vesel is married to his beautiful wife Tara & has 2 children; Opal (11) & Julius (15).

phillip_vesel@beaverton.k12.or.us

Steve Naylor- Varsity Asst

Coach Naylor is one of the top girl's varsity coaches in the state. He led the girl's Tigard program to multiple league titles and state tournament appearances. Coach Naylor coached in the Southridge youth program during his tenure at Tigard. Steve begins his 3rd season as a varsity assistant/associate head coach.

Denny Groenig- Varsity Assistant

Contact Information: Skyhawkshoops1@gmail.com

Coach Goenig is excited to begin his 2nd year as a Southridge coach. He comes to Southridge with 11 years of head Freshman and JV coaching experience at Century High School. He also has experience as a Varsity assistant, youth 5th-8th grade head coach, and youth coordinator. I value that I am a role model as a coach and I am committed to teaching each player life lessons with an emphasis on sportsmanship. Development of the player's fundamental skills, work ethic and putting the team above individual accomplishments are my season goals for each team member. I expect my players to be role models on and off the court and to play the game with passion and enthusiasm. I believe my responsibilities as a coach are to prepare them for the next level as a player and more importantly as a young man. I feel these can all be accomplished as I have been blessed with the gifts of commitment, dedication, organization, disciplined structure and a heart to serve and teach young adults the game of basketball. I have a supportive wife, Kathy and four awesome children; Brezlyn, Shaylee, Kaden and Drew. Go Hawks!

NeJuan Thompson-

JV Coach

Contact at: Southridge@portlandenergybasketball.com

Coach Thompson is entering his 4th year of being President of Southridge Youth Basketball. This will be his 15th season working with youth athletes. I preach communication to our players. Verbal and body Language are the two most important aspects we consistently talk about during the season. I believe communication is one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of sports. With constant communication, you build trust within your team by helping each player to become 5 acting as 1. Trust then turns into confidence, which is what separates good players from great players. How a coach interacts with his players is very important. Giving positive feedback is an important belief of ours. Even if we feel the need to point out a negative, we will always follow up with a positive statement. We believe players are more likely to fulfill their potential when you tell them how good they can be. My expectation of players is to have the same interaction amongst themselves. Talking down to players will not be tolerated and our expectation is there will be constant communication among the players on and off the court. Our job as coaches is to transcend basketball lessons into life lessons. By focusing on these values, we insure that our kids will receive lessons that will exceed the hardwood and overflow into life. On and off the floor, communication is a key aspect of life.

Kelly Christensen- Frosh Head Coach

Kelly played two years of basketball at Linn Benton Community College. He went on to work as a manager for the Oregon State Basketball Men's Basketball team. In college, he began working for the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis. He found he had a passion for working with youth. Kelly started his coaching career at Woodburn High School, while also working in the district as a Special Education Assistant. He is now in his second year at Southridge where he also coaches football and baseball. Kelly works as our High School Graduation Mentor at Southridge. Go Hawks!

JV2 Head coach- Braxton Latt