Medina to continue Alverson's ways

Danny Medina believes the Tooele High basketball program lost enough this winter.

The team lost its head coach, Gary Alverson, to cancer just before the 3A playoffs, and then the Buffalo lost the 3A title g\ame to Judge.

In an effort to preserve what Alverson started in Tooele, Medina applied for the job and was recently announced as Alverson's successor by the high school. Tooele won the state title last season in Alverson's third year as head coach.

"I just wanted to keep Gary Alverson's system in place," said Medina, who ran the program while Alverson battled cancer last winter. "It's been successful, and the kids have bought into it."

Medina joined Alverson four years ago when they began to institute the program, which includes discipline and respect.

"The hardest year was that first year trying to teach the program to the players in summer camps," Medina said. "I just didn't want those seniors coming in to have to learn something new."

Medina isn't sure which of the other assistants will stay on with him, but it is his hope that they all stay and continue to run the program in the same fashion as, and as a sort of tribute to, Alverson.

"I never saw him lose his composure with the kids," said Medina. "I just wanted to keep everything in place, and be there for Gary's sake and for the kids."

Medina has coached for 23 years and is currently the high school's baseball coach. He started out at St. Joseph's and spent seven years as a head baseball coach and assistant basketball coach at Judge Memorial Catholic High School.

He is an adaptive physical education teacher and lives in Tooele with his wife, Suzanne, and four children.