Garrett Etzel looking forward to Mifflin homecoming ‘where it all started’
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
It would have seemed to be a no-brainer for Garrett Etzel to go for the head coaching job at his alma mater, Gov. Mifflin, when it opened following the season.
It wasn’t.
He admits he agonized over it. He had just finished his first season as head coach at Wyomissing and didn’t want to leave the players and families he had developed relationships with during six years in the program.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, by any means,” said the 39-year-old Mifflin grad.
(Alvernia University photo)
Ultimately, it was an opportunity he simply couldn’t pass up. He played on some of the Mustangs’ most successful teams and the pull to return home was just too great to resist.
“That’s where it all started,” said Etzel, who was approved by the Mifflin school board Monday night. “I live in the Mifflin district; my kids go to Brecknock (Elementary); my wife (Alissa) is a sixth-grade teacher at the Intermediate School.
“All that, plus there’s a special feeling being able to come home coach there. It just seemed right.”
Etzel still owns the Mustangs’ single-game scoring record; he had 42 points against Conestoga Valley in the season-opener his senior season, in 2002-03.
He has since earned a reputation as a top shooting coach; before that he was known for his passion as a player. If he can pass along some of those traits the Mustangs might finally be able to get over the hump.
It has been five seasons since they finished above .500. They’ve had just four winning records in the 21 seasons since Etzel left. They haven’t won a division title since 1979. They have won just one district playoff game over the last 15 years. And they have never qualified for the state tournament.
Mifflin finished 8-14 this season, 7-15 the year before.
“Things are obviously going to change,” said Etzel. “I’m going to let them know that.”
Etzel will have a good base to work with. The Mustangs return their top five scorers, including all-division pick Matt Koehler, who averaged a team-best 11.5 points, and Andrew Galantuomo, who averaged 9.3 points and should be one of the league’s top point guards.
Etzel will meet with his new team for the first time on Wednesday. His message will be clear.
“I’m want them to be hard-working and competitive,” he said. “Basketball, it can’t just be a hobby (if you’re going) to win; you’ve gotta have a passion for it.”
Etzel did. He was an All-Berks pick as a senior, when he averaged 19.8 points. As a junior he teamed with Brandon Smith to lead the Mustangs to 22 victories, second-most in program history.
He went on to an outstanding career at Alvernia where he averaged 17.4 points as a senior and was named PAC Player of the Year after leading Alvernia to back-to-back league championships. He is in the Crusaders’ Hall of Fame.
He got there by outworking the guy he was going against: in games, at practice, on the playground in the offseason.
“Every day at practice is important,” Etzel said. “The way you practice is the way you play in games. Everything has got to be a competition. We’ve gotta work each and every day to make each other better and make the team better. I want to see these kids working hard, buying into what we’re trying to build, so that it will bring back that winning culture. I’m ready for that task and I’m excited for it.”
Wyomissing, which also brings back several of its top scorers from an 11-11 team, will be expected to compete for the Division III title next season in Berks Conference play.
At Mifflin Etzel will be starting at the bottom. The Mustangs have spent much of the past several decades in the shadows of Reading High and Wilson. That won’t change next season, what with the Bulldogs returning almost intact after winning the league title and the Red Knights being the Red Knights – a team that only reloads.
Add Muhlenberg and the addition of Berks Catholic, which moves up from Berks II, and Berks I will be as tough, or tougher, than ever next season.
“I recognize that it’s going to be a challenge,” Etzel said, “but I think we can get there. I’m putting together a good coaching staff that’s going to help us achieve something that hasn’t been done in a long time, hopefully. We recognize who the front-runners have been, and we’re hoping to be able to change that.”
When Etzel played the Mustangs were able to fully compete with Berks’ top teams. They finished in a three-way tie for first place in Berks I his junior season and finished second the next season, going 11-2 in league play.
“I’m looking at it as an opportunity that I really couldn’t pass up,” Etzel said of the move to Mifflin. “I didn’t know if or when that opportunity would ever come.
“I knew the timing of it wasn’t great. The kids at Wyo are fantastic; I love all those kids there. I didn’t want to make them feel I was abandoning them. If it was any other opening, it wouldn’t have even been a question (that I stayed at Wyomissing). It’s only because it’s Mifflin (that I left).”
