By Greg Gielczyk
LocalSportsJournal.com
HART — Hart girls’ basketball coach Travis Rosema relishes his part in the resurgence of the Pirates’ athletic footprint.
Rosema, in his fifth year with the Pirates, came over to Hart from Oakridge, where he was the junior varsity coach for 3 years, and coached the girls junior varsity for 3 years.
Rosema has clearly put the Pirates back on the map, reaching its apex with a run to the regional finals in 2019 after winning their first district title in 30 years.
But the Pirates’ success hasn’t happened overnight.
Hart Girls basketball coach Travis Rosema
The Pirates went 16-6 in the 2015-16 season under previous coach Staci Hovey, who coached the varsity for 3 years. Rosema has picked up the baton and continued to move the program forward.
“It’s been a steady improvement since I’ve been here,” said Rosema. “We just slowly started building. We got some buy-in with the younger kids, and it paid off the last 4 years.
“The people want to win,” he said. “It’s a hard-working community. I’m just lucky to have the parents and kids that want to put in the time. It’s nothing special I’ve done.”
Hart’s rising trajectory hit a peak in 2020 when the Pirates finished 19-5 and won their second straight Division 3 district title, and fell short of winning the West Michigan Conference championship by two points.
The Pirates went 17-4 overall and 14-0 in the West Michigan Conference last year and have finished either first or second in the conference since 2019-20.
Obviously the Pirates have their share of individual standouts. But it’s the role players whose contributions often go unnoticed, except by the coach, and their willingness to accept their responsibilities is what has driven the Pirates’ success.
“It’s developing character, grit and toughness to get them ready for anything life throws at them,” Rosema said.
Hart will be tasked with finding players to fill the holes left by graduated seniors and award-winning players like Jayd Hovey and Kendall Williamson, as well as Morgan Marvin and Audrey Aerts.
But, it’s a next person up mantra for the Pirates, who got off to a 2-0 start this year, including a thrilling 43-42 overtime win over defending Division 3 state finalist Ludington in the opener.
Rosema’s involvement at Hart actually began while he was still at Oakridge and his wife was teaching at Hart. He started coaching the youth program. That was when last year’s team leaders were in the third and fourth grades.
Hart girls head coach Travis Rosema (Photo/Leo Valdez)
That was when the seed was planted and the parents bought into the culture change. They wanted more than what Hart was producing at the time.
“We found opportunities for kids to play in certain youth leagues and got them doing it,” said Rosema. “Not only the coaches, but the parents, in general, who sacrifice the time to bring the kids to practice and drive them to Muskegon and get them up to the gym to do training in the summer.
“Starting at the youth level and then seeing the success they had. Their success has paid off in the varsity and it’s funneling back to the youth. It’s kind of a cycle that we didn’t have. The game is just the (tip) of the iceberg.”
Rosema graduated from Oakridge, but because of health issues played only 2 seasons of basketball. He sat out his senior year after having surgery.
He has a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice from Lake Superior State and is a member of the Hart Area Rec Board.
