CALVIN SPORTS REPORT
July 5, 2002
Mark Christner Named Assistant Men's Basketball Coach
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Mark Christner has been named assistant men's basketball
coach at Calvin College. In addition to serving as an assistant with the men's
varsity team, Christner will also serve as head coach of the men's junior
varsity team. Christner replaces former Calvin assistant Tim Walker who
recently stepped down to accept the head men's basketball coaching job at
Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Illinois.
A native of Big Rapids and a graduate of Big Rapids High School, the 25-year
old Christner is no stranger to the Calvin men's basketball program as he served
as a student assistant coach during the 1998-99 season. A sharp-shooting
three-point guard, Christner was a member of the Calvin men's junior varsity
team during the 1995-96 season and was then a member of the varsity team during
the 1996-97 and 1997-98 campaigns before stepping into a student assistant role.
As a student assistant coach in 1998-99, Christner was a part of a Calvin team
that claimed a share of the MIAA championship and finished 19-7 overall.
Christner then moved over to the Calvin women's program for the 1999-2000
season where he served as junior varsity coach and varsity assistant. During
the year, the Calvin women's varsity team reached the "Sweet 16" round of the
NCAA III Tournament and finished with a 23-7 overall record. The past two
years, Christner has served as top varsity assistant coach with the women's
team.
In addition to coaching the Calvin men's junior varsity team, Christner will be
responsible for scouting future varsity opponents, recruiting and setting up
Calvin's junior varsity schedule.
"I am really excited to have Mark join our staff," said head Calvin men's
basketball coach Kevin Vande Streek. "Even though Mark has been with the
women's team the last three years, we have remained very close. He brings
valuable experience to our program and his knowledge and outgoinging personality
will be big assets to our program."
Christner also expressed enthusiasm for his new position. "It's exciting to go
back to my roots as a Calvin basketball player," said Christner. "I played for
Coach Vande Streek and also had a chance to work with him as a student assistant
coach. It will be great to work with him and in a program that has had a great
deal of success. I am anxiously looking forward to the upcoming season. It
should be a lot of fun."
Christner moves into a Calvin men's basketball program that has claimed a least
a share of the last four MIAA titles and has posted three consecutive seasons of
20 victories or more. During the 1999-2000 season, Calvin advanced to the NCAA
III Final Four for the third time in school history and then captured the
school's second national championship in men's basketball with a 79-74 victory
over the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the national title game.
A 1999 graduate of Calvin, Christner is a social studies teacher at Holy Spirit
School in the Grand Rapids West Catholic School system. He will be married on
July 27 to Sara Plasman. Christner's future bride is a 2000 Calvin graduate who
works in the Calvin Admissions office and serves as an assistant softball coach
at Calvin. Plasman was recently named Calvin's new coordinator for athletic
recruitment.
In taking the head coaching position at Trinity Christian College, Walker
becomes the second assistant coach from the Calvin men's basketball team in the
last three years to accept a head coaching position at the collegiate level.
Two years ago, Calvin assistant coach Chris Fear left to accept the head job at
Dana College of Nebraska.
"We are sorry to see Tim go but we are thankful for his outstanding work over
the last two years and wish him all the best in the future," said Vande Streek.
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