SHENENDEHOWA
COACHING STAFF
Tony Dzikas
Varsity Coach
Coach Dzikas is in his fifth year as Shen Varsity Basketball Coach. Each year has been better than the last. The team was 7-7 in the Suburban Council his first year, followed by a 9-5 record in 2006-2007, and in 2007-2008 the Plainsmen were 10-4 in the league sharing the league title with Colonie.
The Plainsmens had a stellar 2008-2009 season! Winning the Suburban Council (Blue Division) wth a 15-1 record. They also won the Shen Tip-Off Tournament, Proctor Holiday Tournament, and were semi-finalist in the Section 2 Tournament. They ended the season with an overall record of 21-2 and were ranked in the top 20 in the state.
Coach Dzikas was named 2009 "Coach of the Year" by Channel 13, The Saratogian, and the Suburban Council.
Coach Dzikas was named the youngest varsity basketball head coach in Section 2 in 1995 when he was hired at his alma mater, Waterford High School. As a player, he was a three-year varsity starter, scoring 1,150 points. After high school, he graduated from the College of St. Rose with a degree in education and earned his master’s degree in Educational Psychology from the University at Albany. He currently is a fifth-grade teacher at Tesago Elementary School in Clifton Park.
In his spare time, Coach Dzikas directs the Fast Break Basketball Camp and is president of East Coast Hoops. He is also co-director of the Koubek Basketball Camps during the summer. He and his wife, Kristen, reside in Clifton Park with their sons, Jacob and Devin.
He is assisted by Coach Don Joss and Dolph Beyer.
Sean Hunter
Junior Varsity Coach
Sean Hunter is in his tenth season as the junior varsity coach at Shen. His teams have compiled an overall record of 144-34 and have won the Suburban Council Blue Division six times.
Coach Hunter played basketball at Mechanicville High School and taught there for five years before beginning his teacher career at Shen, where he instructs 11th-grade math. He has coached for 18 years at the high school level, including at Mechanicville, where his varsity softball teams won three consecutive state championships.
Coach Hunter graduated from Oneonta State in 1990 with a mathematics degree in secondary education and earned a master’s degree in reading from the University at Albany. Recently married, he and his lovely wife Lisa reside in Mechanicville.
He is assisted by his father, Gary Hunter, a longtime coach in Section 2.
Joseph Grady
Freshmen Coach
Coach Grady is in his first year as the head Freshmen coach. Last year he was the assistant coach for the freshmen under Paul Yattaw.
Coach Grady was a standout basketball player for Whitehall High School from where he graduated in 2002. In 2007 he graduated from SUNY Cortland with a Bachelors degree in Physical Education. He currently teaches Physical Education at Shenendehowa. Joe also serves as the Shen Freshmen Football assistant coach in the fall.
He is assisted by Travis St. Clair.
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