GLEN ELLYN – Trying to balance coaching two sports became just too much for Mike Hofland.
So on Wednesday, one day after his Glenbard West girls basketball team was knocked out of the Class 4A playoffs, he resigned from his position as the varsity head coach after 11 years on the job.
"Just the whole time commitment," said Hofland, who is a varsity assistant football coach in the fall, "and not being able to get to know the younger kids, the ones in fourth, fifth and sixth grade, it was hard from that aspect."
Hofland said he first starting thinking about this decision while on vacation over Christmas break.
"My father-in-law has a place in Florida and it was just a time to get away from everything and enjoy family," he said. "I was thinking that maybe it was time to take a break. My daughter is 10 and she is starting to really enjoy basketball. She has been asking me to help out and I've never had the time. We will see how that goes.
"And who knows, maybe after a summer off and not working in the winter, maybe I will really miss it."
His teams posted a combined record of 157-167 during his stint. The Hilltoppers won a pair of regional titles over that span and also won the West Suburban Silver conference title in 2006. Previously, Hofland had worked as a coach in the Hilltoppers boys' basketball program at various levels.
"When I went to the girls program, I told them that I was going to coach them like athletes," Hofland said. "I was going to be hard on them. But they were looking to be pushed and they jumped in. We had a nice run there, we got to two sectionals in a row and lost to Benet and Geneva. I've always had good girls."
Departing with this year's senior class, which consisted of Sarah Haggerty and Morgan Villafania, was the perfect way to go.
"This year we had two seniors that are special," Hofland said. "Those are two seniors who didn't play much at all but in practice they were the most vocal, and in games, they were the biggest cheerleaders. That's what you enjoy and that's what you miss. But it was a good time to go out with those two."