Former VASJ Head Coach Babe Kwasniak Hired at Cornerstone Christian Academy
- Thread starter C'Town216
- Start date
Wildcats1886
Well-known member
No surprise. Wasn’t Kwas involved there this year?
Incidentally, what’s the background on this school? I had never heard of it once until Bothwell started getting some recognition.
Incidentally, what’s the background on this school? I had never heard of it once until Bothwell started getting some recognition.
Lol....and somehow magically there will be 6 new guys show up next year....from all over the city and Cornerstone will roll to the D4 title. What a joke! Can someone from the area post this year's roster....so we can compare it to the roster at the state of next season? Have a funny feeling that they will look significantly different lol
Raylan_Givens
Always right, unless I'm wrong
Well of course there will be new players. And for the same reason he had great teams at VASJ - kids want to play for him. If he went to Mentor or Euclid he'd have gotten transfers there too.
If you wanted to see the roster you could look at Maxpreps (https://www.maxpreps.com/high-schoo...atriots-(willoughby,oh)/basketball/roster.htm), but then you'd see that the current team has so little support that no one even took the time to load up their roster. I "have a funny feeling" that with Kwasniak as their coach, there's going to be a little more energy in their program.
Have another "funny feeling" you are one of those "if they ain't born here they shouldn't play here" folks, so I tried to use as few syllables as possible in my response.
James x2
Well-known member
Kids stopped wanting to play for him. Parents stopped wanting their kids to play for him. Coaches stopped wanting to coach with him. The school stopped wanting him representing them. Things are not what they seem. He has his supporters and for every 1 of those there are 2 who saw the writing on the wall. Talent at VASJ diminished on his watch. Little boy who cried wolf. It was past due for him to leave. Now he can sell "What the Rock is Cooking" against Richmond Hts ,Lutheran East, VASJ, and the other small market teams.
C'Town216
Well-known member
CCA is a newer (opened in 1999) private K-12 school located off SOM Center in Willoughby Hills near the Mayfield boarder. Very small christian school but have become more of well established basketball program the last decade. They are one of the rare schools in NE Ohio that don’t offer football which Kwasniak doesn’t have to worry about student athletes playing football in the fall.
C'Town216
Well-known member
Some still have the blinders on for him. No doubt. After that 2013 title he won, he was never the same person. Became more of an egomaniac as time went on which rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Especially with his social media activity.
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well this will make things interesting in d4 in Northeast ohio.
I am sure he will hit the recruiting trail hard. He will have tough competition to pull in the good athletes. Richmond Hts has gotten their hands on most of the really good transfers the last couple years. Now there is another program to compete with.
It will be interesting how long it takes them to get their players in especially with his son playing there.
I am sure he will hit the recruiting trail hard. He will have tough competition to pull in the good athletes. Richmond Hts has gotten their hands on most of the really good transfers the last couple years. Now there is another program to compete with.
It will be interesting how long it takes them to get their players in especially with his son playing there.
braygatron4
Active member
Babe loves beating up on D4 teams who don't recruit and pick their roster. Doesn't want to join a D1-D2 school because he knows he can't compete with the Flannery's & the Joyce's at the big boy levels! This is like if Lincoln Riley was like ya know what, I'm never going to be able to beat Saban, Swinney, or Day, so I'm going to go coach James Madison and bring Oklahoma caliber players from all over the country with me just so I can call myself a champion, even if that means an asterisk next to my name
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
I agree that CCA program will put out a better product in the years ahead with Babe at the helm. I watched his video yesterday on the announcement. He said all of the right things. I don't know the guy or the inside part of the criticism surrounding Babe. I do agree that no matter what job he was going to take, there would be some players wanting to play for him.
Jonah Waag from Mentor speaks highly of Babe. As much as some are saying on here that players are sick of him, his two best players transferred out of VASJ after his departure. To me, that suggests loyalty to Babe more than being sick of him.
Jonah Waag from Mentor speaks highly of Babe. As much as some are saying on here that players are sick of him, his two best players transferred out of VASJ after his departure. To me, that suggests loyalty to Babe more than being sick of him.
C'Town216
Well-known member
Very likely haha
Raylan_Givens
Always right, unless I'm wrong
Obviously you are quite close to this. Very seldom does coaching or AD’ing at ones alma mater work out well. For as nasty as the separation was, VASJ won 100 more games than it lost during his tenure so not sure anyone would be upset that he got a job where he can coach his own kids. Unless you were personally slighted by the man.
Frankly, for those of us on the outside, VASJ should be much more embarrassed by the 2 year reign of Elvis The (not so) Great than a fired coach getting another job
Raylan_Givens
Always right, unless I'm wrong
How would his players know what kind of guy he is? They would not be as good of a source as anonymous Yappi posters! (Insert HEAVY sarcasm here).
Well said, Cardz
vikings4life
Well-known member
Here is the vague information (I will not add any more detail) about the two transfers. One of them was dismissed from the school/team last season. The other won a SECTIONAL championship this season. If he would have remained at JOES then he probably would have broken Clark Kellogg's school career scoring mark. You can decide if this was a reasonable decision.
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James x2
Well-known member
Waag was basically expelled for some unsavory actions. Scott of last years Shaker Hts team bolted as well as a significant player at Rich Hts. Key started at VASJ. Last year I would look at Cleve Hts, Shaker, and Euclid and Rich Hts and wonder what might have been. Heck Reggie Priah left VASJ and Babe to be at Euclid with TJ Kwas. To many things and players to list.
vikings4life
Well-known member
I can describe the Elvis scenario as weird, strange, annoying, amusing, unprepared, uninterested, unJOES, etc.
As for other programs, we wish no ill will upon them. We have no interest in LC, CCA, St. I, St. E, Euclid,... We are JOES. We care about hanging BANNERS.
James x2
Well-known member
I would say that a player's opinion of someone ( who said player exercised terrible discretion in a matter involving serious potential legal issues ,not once, but twice,) might be taken with a grain of salt.
brusharc1986
Active member
Shalom my fellow Yappi posters. Yes it is true. I took a bit of a respite from posting here as I was on a yoyvel to allow for some inner peace. I login today and see this great news!
I forgive Coach Babe for all his sins. I will do my best to wish him well as he attempts to build a D4 program. Now that he is a born again at Cornerstone Christian he should be in a much better place. Let’s all wish him well as he attempts to give us all another year or two of happiness.
I forgive Coach Babe for all his sins. I will do my best to wish him well as he attempts to build a D4 program. Now that he is a born again at Cornerstone Christian he should be in a much better place. Let’s all wish him well as he attempts to give us all another year or two of happiness.
James x2
Well-known member
I, and others who I respect, dealt with various attitudes born of insecurities and entitlements resulting from the 100 games won more than it lost during his tenure. Sometimes success breeds success and a few other qualities best left behind. Rabbit ears are a fitting quality here so close to Easter(hint hint). I personally liked this coach a lot as a person( at one point in time) and wished he was still here for that would have meant VASJ was still smoothly sailing along. I'm not rooting against his failure at C.C.A.( Total focus on VASJ getting well). But this train was speeding along with a huge bend coming around the corner and no air brakes. Many saw the inevitable coming. When paranoia sets in and you cast yourself as a victim, the outcome is determined for you. I am disappointed in the two year reign of Elvis but VASJ is moving forward with capable people.
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Raylan_Givens
Always right, unless I'm wrong
Apparently in VASJ vernacular "moving forward" means jumping on a thread about a guy getting a job and reminding everyone about why he was fired. We all know, we were there. We read that thread when it happened. If y'all were so certain it was the "right thing" & "he did it to himself" then there seems to be a few folks that can't get enough talking about it.
Frankly, as an embarrassing chapter as the last few years have been, kinda wonder why y'all don't just put your heads in the sand and avoid contact with the outside world for awhile.
As for what the coach's players think about him, I wasn't talking about the one kid who transferred to Mentor (but way to stay classy about the hints about the multiple brushes with the law the kid had. You were able to disparage a minor, Coach Kwas & Mentor all in one sentence).
I was talking about guys like Ryan Hooper. A guy who became a soldier, then a teacher, and no spends his free time working with families of service members who have die. The guy who wrote this:
https://ryanhooper.medium.com/the-legacy-coach-kwas-built-985b3dd65db6
If you try to explain away why this guy loves his coach so much or why his opinion shouldn't matter, it might just say more about you than it does him.
vikings4life
Well-known member
Babe did NOT welcome transfers into his program during his time at JOES. Maybe this will change with his new gig.
James x2
Well-known member
I knew Ryan Hooper from sitting with his parents who are great people. He is a fine young man. Babe during Ryan's time at the school was a completely different person than the one who ended his tenure there with Elvis. Enough said. I attempted to convey my thoughts about the situation and read and re-read before posting to best speak my thoughts. Obviously you want to take exception with me. Your choice. I'm not on this site posting anything about B.K. other than to chime in on a current thread. Disparage? I'm not going to lie about the situation with someone who turned into a completely different person towards others such as myself . I knew him casually, had a good rapport with him, and suddenly ???? I didn't play any role in his situation, he did. My statement says nothing about me other than the fact that you may not like my opinion or agree with it, but I shoot straight and if you don't like it or can't understand. Oh well. Carry on.
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Raylan_Givens
Always right, unless I'm wrong
Respect your opinion on the matter. You obviously had first hand experiences. Frankly, that was my point. BK's firing was, for lack of a better term, an "ugly divorce" where no one wins. After the firing many VASJ posters noted this was the best move for the school and stood in lockstep with the AD. Obviously, the AD ended up having his own issues and now neither are employed by the school any longer.
That said, you set the tone for the thread with your "who got worked over" question on the 2nd post. Forgive me for misreading your intent, but it sounded like you were insinuating some nasty things.
Bottom line, you have a significant problem with the guy. Understood. No one can really argue that since they weren't in your shoes. But since he's been fired & doesn't coach at your school any longer, why are you continuing to post about him? You say you're just "shoot(ing) straight" but I get the feeling you are still hurt.
Bottom line, a successful high school coach who was fired by his alma mater gets hired by another school and has the chance to coach his sons. If you have a problem with that, that's a YOU problem.
James x2
Well-known member
I personally liked this coach and liked his attitude and rapport with those surrounding the program.(AT ONE TIME) But things changed and not for the good. We still supported the team and would have still done so if he was the coach. He is not. His attitude changed and so did those who employed him. He was terminated. Things not what they seem is a reference to relationships where it takes time to see what what was first hidden. Just to clarify.
C'Town216
Well-known member
I can say I can backup that Kwas has changed. He came in as a chill, laid back person with a West Point/Military background. I noticed his personality changed as soon as they won the state title in 2013. He let his ego get out of control, became self centered, and even had such a short fuse where I’ve seen him get into altercations with parents.