BEAVER TOWNSHIP — From the time he took over as head coach of the Newton Falls boys’ basketball program in 1987, Roy Sembach has been dedicated to making sure his players are fundamentally sound and well-prepared for their upcoming opponent.

Sembach just completed his 38th season at the helm of the Tigers’ hoops program, joining his mentor and former Newton Falls head coach, Gene Zorn, as the only two coaches to head the program since the 1955-56 campaign, 71 total years.

With 537 career victories – he is 537-323, a sparkling .624 winning percentage – Sembach said each season presents a new challenge as he continues to draw ideas from other coaches and programs but loves the idea of building his program from the ground up.

Getting kids interested at an early age has been the key to the Tigers’ success.

“When I became head coach, we used to go to a lot of clinics at that time, and a couple were really memorable,” Sembach told the Curbstone Coaches during Monday’s meeting at Avion Banquet Center. “We did a three-day Bobby Knight clinic in Bloomington, Indiana, and another multiple-day clinic that Rick Pitino spearheaded in Lexington, Kentucky. As a staff, we tried to draw information from college coaches. Also, they used to have Nike clinics every year, where various Division I coaches would speak on a variety of topics, so our practice structure and the way we did things was more like a college program than anything else.”

Sembach adapts his coaching style to his personnel but notes fundamentals are never compromised.

“In basketball, we change what we do based on our personnel,” Sembach said. “Things like that change from year to year but fundamentals never, ever change. That is what is important, the way we are going to teach man-to-man offense, shooting, passing, pivoting and handling the ball. Those are the most important things for a program to have from year to year. If you get your kids drilled in the fundamentals and they know how to play the game, then sometimes it’s best to get out of their way and let them go.”

Every program faces challenges, but numbers are often the biggest challenge for a smaller school.

“Obviously, the challenge for us is that this community is small, there isn’t a big population base and we aren’t going to get a lot of transfers coming in from all over the place like some schools,” the 12-time Trumbull County coach of the year said. “That being said, what we need to do is build our program from the ground up. The most important thing we do is that we start with our kids and I have a group camp, which is actually four different camps each summer. We host a kindergarten through 8th grade camp where I spend one to two weeks. My players help run the camp, so we start them early and follow them all the way through.

“Some high school coaches might only deal with their high school kids or perhaps freshman and junior-high level players, but we know who we have from the beginning and we keep close tabs on them. We try to create that family atmosphere of coming through Newton Falls and wanting to be a Tiger. That is what we have tried to create here.”

Sembach has guided the Tigers to 19 consecutive winning seasons, 27 in the last 28 years.”

He has multiple sectional titles, six district crowns, has played for 11 district championships and finished runner-up in his only attempt at a regional title (2010), calling tournament time special for everyone from players to coaches to fans.

“To me, the tournament is the most exciting time of year,” he said. “It is fun, and even the last two years when we got knocked out, in overtime by Kirtland last year and this year when we lost a tough, hard-fought game to Dalton in the district semi-finals. Dalton and Kirtland then played in the regional final to go to state, Dalton won 59-51 so we are right there, especially with the new divisions. We have a chance in the next couple years to do something special at Newton Falls.”

Sembach says the game has changed a bit since he became head coach, but the players remain as competitive as ever.

“My first year was the first year of the 3-point shot, and that was different,” he said. “Some teams refused to shoot a three back then, so while high schools haven’t gotten to the level the NBA has in attempts, the 3-point shot is much more prevalent than it used to be. In our area, due to population decreasing, I think the overall talent level is a little bit down, but since COVID, I do think things have changed. Attendance at games, things like that just aren’t where they used to be prior to COVID.

“Also, as far as the game goes, and I am a bit old school, I would like to see a shot clock. That would be a good change for high school basketball. The kids are pretty much the same as they have been the past 38 years. They buy in, do what you want them to do, and what I love about coaching, every coach wants to win. You are a competitor, you want to get after it, but each year it’s that journey of taking whatever talent you have and trying to make them the best they can be, giving them the best experience that they can have for one year because that is what it is all about.

“Every year it starts all over and it’s taking that new group of kids, challenging them to become the best they can be both on the court and in the classroom and giving them some ideas for the future. That’s the essence of coaching as far as I am concerned.”

Next Monday, Joe DeRosa, retired NBA and NCAA referee and owner of Smitty’s Sports Apparel, will serve as guest speaker.