Behrens honored as boys' coach of year
Eric Behrens bleeds Omaha Central purple.
That’s where he went to school. He played basketball for the Eagles, the final two years for his father, Rick.
After Eric finished college, the elder Behrens asked his son if he wanted to help out with the Eagles’ program.
And when Rick Behrens decided to get out of coaching, Eric stepped in as the head basketball coach.
Seven years — and three consecutive Class A state championships later — Eric Behrens is honored as the Journal Star Boys’ Prep Coach of the Year.
He can look back on his tenure with a bit more perspective.
“I’ve been blessed with good players in my seven years,” Behrens said. “The first three years, it just didn’t work out.”
Behrens guided the Eagles to the state tournament every year. The first three ended with first-round losses to Lincoln High, twice in overtime.
The Eagles broke through in 2005 for their first state tournament win in 27 years.
Then came the three championships. In 2006, Central outlasted two-time defending champion Bellevue West 84-79 in overtime. The following year was a rematch in the title game and the Eagles again prevailed in overtime, this time 93-85. This year, Central edged Bellevue East 59-58 for the school’s sixth title overall.
“You just go and give your best. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t,” said Behrens. “That first year, some breaks didn’t go our way, we had foul troubles and missed free throws.
“Plus, you have to give credit to the team we played. Lincoln High had beaten us by 20 points during the regular season and they were a good, well-rounded team.“
In all three of those losses, the frustration was clear on Behrens’ face. The feisty coach just simply doesn’t like to lose.
But there has been growth.
“The last three years, we made those plays or got those stops. The breaks went our way,” he said. “It’s hard to say the players learned anything because it’s not like the NBA, where you have the same team for several years. We had different players.
“But maybe I learned as a coach. Once these guys won and got some confidence, their experiences at Devaney Sports Center were all positive.”
Behrens said there wasn’t any grand plan to only be associated with Omaha Central. In fact, it wasn’t until midway through his time at the University of Nebraska at Omaha that he switched to teacher’s college.
“It’s just one of those things and it worked out that way,” said Behrens, who teaches government and social studies. “Credit my dad. He asked me if I wanted to help and that got me started. When he decided to get out, there were openings at Omaha North, Northwest and Central. I applied for all three.
“This was the job I wanted, but the coach going out doesn’t hire the new coach.“
Behrens, who is 34, and wife Trisha have two children, daughter Raina (11) and son Roman (8).
“When I want to get away from basketball, I do stuff with my family. We go to movies or try to get a vacation,” he said. “In the summer, we go swimming a lot and the kids like to go hiking. The kids played soccer this spring.”
Those family ties help him keep balance in his life.
“It forces you to be more organized. You have to have good assistant coaches, to run the weights or take a summer league game,” he said. “I have a tremendous staff. In the spring, I pick my kids up at elementary school, so my assistants run the after-school program.”
Behrens said Chad Burns, Herb Welling and Charles Williams have been with him since he took over. There have been some recent additions.
“You have to spread it around a bit. My coaches are willing to help and do what they can,” he said. “I have some really good people who make my job a lot easier.”
There was continuity in the three championship years. Two-time Super-State captain Josh Jones, Chris Griffin, Ronnell Grixby and Lorenzo Wilson played on all three teams.
“You have to have players who are committed to winning. This is about the team winning, it’s not about who is the high scorer,” Behrens said. “What is great about this group is that they were not concerned with their stats.”
Now, Behrens looks to the future. All five starters were seniors and only two others played in state tournament games.
“We just started camp and it’s a completely different group,” he said. “There really isn’t pressure, but their expectations are really high.
“I love the guys who just graduated, but now we have some young men ready to take on challenges and it’s fun. They’ve been waiting for their turn and I’m looking forward to the whole process.”
Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.
That’s where he went to school. He played basketball for the Eagles, the final two years for his father, Rick.
After Eric finished college, the elder Behrens asked his son if he wanted to help out with the Eagles’ program.
And when Rick Behrens decided to get out of coaching, Eric stepped in as the head basketball coach.
Seven years — and three consecutive Class A state championships later — Eric Behrens is honored as the Journal Star Boys’ Prep Coach of the Year.
He can look back on his tenure with a bit more perspective.
“I’ve been blessed with good players in my seven years,” Behrens said. “The first three years, it just didn’t work out.”
Behrens guided the Eagles to the state tournament every year. The first three ended with first-round losses to Lincoln High, twice in overtime.
The Eagles broke through in 2005 for their first state tournament win in 27 years.
Then came the three championships. In 2006, Central outlasted two-time defending champion Bellevue West 84-79 in overtime. The following year was a rematch in the title game and the Eagles again prevailed in overtime, this time 93-85. This year, Central edged Bellevue East 59-58 for the school’s sixth title overall.
“You just go and give your best. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t,” said Behrens. “That first year, some breaks didn’t go our way, we had foul troubles and missed free throws.
“Plus, you have to give credit to the team we played. Lincoln High had beaten us by 20 points during the regular season and they were a good, well-rounded team.“
In all three of those losses, the frustration was clear on Behrens’ face. The feisty coach just simply doesn’t like to lose.
But there has been growth.
“The last three years, we made those plays or got those stops. The breaks went our way,” he said. “It’s hard to say the players learned anything because it’s not like the NBA, where you have the same team for several years. We had different players.
“But maybe I learned as a coach. Once these guys won and got some confidence, their experiences at Devaney Sports Center were all positive.”
Behrens said there wasn’t any grand plan to only be associated with Omaha Central. In fact, it wasn’t until midway through his time at the University of Nebraska at Omaha that he switched to teacher’s college.
“It’s just one of those things and it worked out that way,” said Behrens, who teaches government and social studies. “Credit my dad. He asked me if I wanted to help and that got me started. When he decided to get out, there were openings at Omaha North, Northwest and Central. I applied for all three.
“This was the job I wanted, but the coach going out doesn’t hire the new coach.“
Behrens, who is 34, and wife Trisha have two children, daughter Raina (11) and son Roman (8).
“When I want to get away from basketball, I do stuff with my family. We go to movies or try to get a vacation,” he said. “In the summer, we go swimming a lot and the kids like to go hiking. The kids played soccer this spring.”
Those family ties help him keep balance in his life.
“It forces you to be more organized. You have to have good assistant coaches, to run the weights or take a summer league game,” he said. “I have a tremendous staff. In the spring, I pick my kids up at elementary school, so my assistants run the after-school program.”
Behrens said Chad Burns, Herb Welling and Charles Williams have been with him since he took over. There have been some recent additions.
“You have to spread it around a bit. My coaches are willing to help and do what they can,” he said. “I have some really good people who make my job a lot easier.”
There was continuity in the three championship years. Two-time Super-State captain Josh Jones, Chris Griffin, Ronnell Grixby and Lorenzo Wilson played on all three teams.
“You have to have players who are committed to winning. This is about the team winning, it’s not about who is the high scorer,” Behrens said. “What is great about this group is that they were not concerned with their stats.”
Now, Behrens looks to the future. All five starters were seniors and only two others played in state tournament games.
“We just started camp and it’s a completely different group,” he said. “There really isn’t pressure, but their expectations are really high.
“I love the guys who just graduated, but now we have some young men ready to take on challenges and it’s fun. They’ve been waiting for their turn and I’m looking forward to the whole process.”
Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.
Copyright © 2002-2008 Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved.