Sam Elsbernd grew up being able to see his Holmes Middle School homeroom from his Holmesdale Court residence.
Elsbernd played three sports at Holmes High School. After graduating, he was an assistant on David Henley’s staff for the Bulldogs boys basketball deep runs from 2005-09 that resulted in four regional championships and ended with a state championship in ’09.
Fifteen years later, Elsbernd is now returning home, named the next head basketball coach of the boys program on Wednesday.
“I got a little choked up when I got the call,” Elsbernd said. “This has been a goal of mine for a long time. For whatever reason, this was the time for it. I’m really thrilled to be going back home, going to a place where most of my friends in my life come from, a place where I know just how much the boys basketball program means to the people in the city.”
Elsbernd takes over for Tony Perkins, who resigned after coaching the team the last two seasons. Elsbernd’s first order of business will be trying to restore a program that’s fallen on hard times recently, having won just five games over the past two seasons. The once storied program that was a fixture in the 9th Region tournament and a region title contender on an annual basis hasn’t reached the region tournament since 2015.
Elsbernd’s passion for the school stood out in interviews as they looked for their next leader. He was the unanimous choice from the selection committee to make the hire.
“They all ranked him as No. 1,’’ Holmes Athletic Director Ken Ellis said. “He was selected because of the passion he has for Holmes High School and the experience he brings as a coach. He will also work at the high school as a special education teacher.’’
Elsbernd’s prior head coaching experience comes from stops with the Bracken County girls and Pendleton County boys. After his assistant role with Holmes, Elsbernd joined the Navy and after his military duties he joined the staff at Scott under Brad Carr, who eventually coached the Bulldogs from 2018-22. Elsbernd then went on to be an assistant at Bracken County for the boys program under Jason Hinson before slotting over to be the Lady Bears head coach from 2017-19. He then led the Pendleton County boys from 2019-23 before spending this past season as an assistant at Bishop Brossart under Ben Franzen.
“Over these years I’ve learned that if a kid believes in you, you can get them to believe in themselves,” Elsbernd said. “If you have a group of kids willing to go out and play hard, good things will happen.”
‘Restore the pride’, is objective No. 1 for Elsbernd. Holmes has struggled with player retention in recent years.
“Just program development as a whole. Get them to realize putting that jersey on is special, working with everyone from feeder systems on up,” Elsbernd said. “Show them we not only care about them as athletes, but as people first.”
Elsbernd’s teams in the past are often defensive-minded and don’t expect that to change.
“It will be a defensive-minded program like anywhere else I’ve been,” Elsbernd said. “I’d like to be more up-tempo than I had in the past, but personnel dictates that. We’ll look to get guys in space and in put them in the best position to make plays.”
The Bulldogs graduate just one player and are expected to return their starting five, including their two leading scorers Mark McCutchin and Dominic Scott.
Holmes last regional title came in 2013, the 13th in program history. With Covington Catholic’s surge since then with six regional titles and Beechwood and Holy Cross annually putting out competitive programs, the 35th District doesn’t provide a night off.
“There’s great coaches in 35th and the 9th Region as a whole,” Elsbernd said. “I’ve always thought it’s one of the best regions as a whole and all four programs have had great success as a whole. This is the first time in 15 years I’m back in it and pretty excited about it.”