It took just more than a week for St. Henry to fill its head girls basketball coach opening.
They didn’t have to look past their own walls.
The Crusaders already had an experienced head coach on the sidelines in assistant Dan Trame. When Todd Smart stepped down to spend more time with family after the season on March 3, Trame said principal Grant Brannen and Athletic Director Jim Demler approached him about taking over and he gladly accepted.
“I was blessed they let me be involved,” Trame said. “St. Henry is a great place. I love the school and I love our girls. At age 60, I’ve got the excitement back again.”
Trame admits he had not really thought about coaching when he returned to St. Henry to teach before the 2022-23 school year, but he wound up assisting Smart the last two years. The Crusaders made the 9th Region Tournament those two years going 33-28 overall.
“The girls kind of know what I’m about and they’re awesome,” Trame said. ” I’m just honored to have the opportunity to coach them.”
Trame has an extensive background coaching basketball. He served as a boys head coach for 18 years at St. Henry, Simon Kenton, Holy Cross and Walton-Verona recording a record of 308-204, leading Simon Kenton to a 9th region championship in 1995.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Dan Trame as our new head girls varsity basketball coach,” Demler said. “He has a fantastic reputation here in northern Kentucky and we are honored to add a coach of his stature.”
After stepping down from the Walton-Verona boys job in 2013, Trame assisted Mark Clinkenbeard on the girls side at Walton-Verona before coming to St. Henry.
“My background coaching boys all those years was very aggressive,” Trame said. “With girls, we’re going to work a lot on positivity. I just want all of our girls to have a positive experience playing high school basketball. I feel like the game of high school basketball has given me so much and I just feel like one of the reasons I’m coming back is I feel I still have something to give there to help these girls not just become better basketball players, but more importantly, better people and prepared for their future.”
Not only will the Crusaders be turning over a new leaf on the sidelines, but on the floor as well. St. Henry graduates six seniors this season including leading scorer Kayla Unkraut and returns just two rotational players in Josephine Powers and Jayne Knollman. There’s room for optimism with a junior varsity team that finished 22-3.
“There’s no guarantee of (future success), but I feel the girls in our program want to continue to get better,” Trame said of the JV team. “They’re very competitive. They understand the game and they play well together. Certainly, that factored in my decision to say yes to this job. The future is pretty bright.”
Trame does admit there will be a big learning curve at the beginning of next season to adjust to the faster pace of the varsity level in addition to playing more games.
“We’re really going to have to keep an eye on our girls and make sure they stay rested and don’t play under the influence of fatigue,” Trame said. “These girls are sponges. They’re very coachable. Every time I’ve spoken to them as a varsity assistant, I’ll go behind the bench and point some things out, they’re all ears. It’s just going to take some time.”
Trame teaches Algebra 2 and Physical Education at St. Henry. He agreed being in the building during the school day will help the girls out.
“It’s very important. I teach all freshmen. I get them coming through and I see them in the hallways every day,” Trame said. “I see them pretty much all day long. I can check on them, see how their day’s going, make sure they’re getting the help and support that they need to succeed at St. Henry.”
St. Henry last won a 34th District championship in 2014 and the last All “A” 9th region crown came in 1996. The Crusaders last 9th Region Tournament win came in 2012, when they won four straight region quarterfinal games from 2009-12.