Meet Our Coaches
Boys 9th and 11th Grade Coach
Leon Pursoo
Coach Pursoo was the Varsity Boys Head Coach at Eagle Academy for Young Men II from 2012-2018. Prior to his head coaching position, he was an assistant at Medgar Evers College from 2010-2012. Coach played at LIU Southampton and excelled on and off the court. Coach Pursoo is very passionate and energetic.
Boys 5th and 6th Grade Coach
Dallas Serrano
Played at Holy Trinity High School, played three years at Newbury College in Boston (Division 3). Played one year at Queens College (Division 2). Went overseas to the Philippines to pursue playing Professional Basketball for 1 year.
Boys 8th Grade Coach
Brian Haggerty
Coach Haggerty played high school basketball at St. Francis Prep where he currently serves as their Boys Varsity Assistant Coach. Coach has a strong passion for skills development and that is one of his main roles at his alma matter. Coach Haggerty played 4 years of college basketball at Manhattanville College and was fortunate to continue his career playing pro ball in Spain. After playing, Coach has dedicated his time to training, coaching and giving back to the game he loves!
Coach
Eric Smiles
Prior to becoming the Hostos Community College Athletic Director, Smiles spent six years at Long Island University Post as the Head Men’s Basketball Coach (2013-2019) which is an NCAA Division II institution in the East Coast Conference. During his tenure, the pioneers made four conference tournament appearances while Smiles coached six all conference players, four 1,000 point scorers and for the 2017 and 2018 seasons Smiles’s teams had the highest GPA of any men’s team at LIU Post averaging over a 3.2 GPA. During his tenure, they were also one of the best defensive and rebounding teams not only in the ECC but in all of Division II. The pioneers finished first in the ECC in defensive FG% and rebound margin three times with many of those years statistically being in the top 20 nationally.
Boys 6th Grade Coach
Aaren Edmead
Coach played high school basketball at Deer Park High School under the direction of John McCaffrey, where he earned four varsity letters while helping the Falcons to three Suffolk League IV titles. Lauded as the 2014 Long Island Player of the Year by Newsday. Also named Suffolk County Boys Basketball player of the Year by Newsday. Two-time All State pick, Three-time All Suffolk League IV and two-time All-Long Island selection. Played four years of Division 1 basketball starting at Wagner College and finished his college career at North Carolina A&T.
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Edmead recently coached at Combine Academy (NC) for two years. At Combine, he was the head coach of the Post Graduate White Team while assisting and training Combine's nationally ranked high school team.
Boys 8th Grade Coach
Curtis Jenkins
Played 4 years of varsity basketball at Farmingdale High School. 2x All-County and an All-Long Island award winner. Led Farmingdale to it’s only Nassau County Championship title since 1980. Played college hoops at Molloy College from 2015-2019 racking up numerous awards. A 3x Defensive Player of the Year, 3x Top 10 Steals Leader for Division 2, First Team All Conference, All-Metropolitan and 2nd team All-East Region and scored over 1600 points. Lastly, led Molloy in every statistical category on its way to its first Conference Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
Girls 8th Grade Coach
Shannon White
Coach Shannon played at St. Anthony's High School where she was a solid contributor. She continued her collegiate career playing at SUNY Cortland. She is currently the Head Varsity Girls Coach at St. Dom's High School. She is an extremely skilled coach who is meticulous with her work.
Girls 11th Grade Coach
Mike Ferreira
Coach Mike is the head Varsity Girls Coach at Syosset where he has led the Braves to many successful season. In 2017, Coach was named coach of the year by Nassau County Section VIII. Coach is extremely excited to develop this group of girls and is eager to have them succeed this fall season.
Girls 4th Grade Coach
Kayla Koch
Coach Kayla is currently the Head Girls Varsity Basketball Coach at Mineola High School, where she is also a Physical Education Teacher in the district. Coach Kayla has coached basketball at the high school and college levels, after playing four years of collegiate basketball at Concordia College and Farmingdale State, as well as one year of WABA basketball. She loves the game of basketball and is passionate about working with athletes of all ages to improve their skills and learn how to play fundamental basketball.
Boys 6th Grade Coach
Zach Tousignant
Coach played collegiate basketball for 3 years at SUNY Brockport where he was an honorary captain his final season. Coach T majored in Physical Education and completed his masters in Adapted Education. He is currently in his 4th season as the Long Beach Varsity Girls Assistant Coach. Coach has a strong passion for the game of basketball and enjoys teaching the youth the "right" way to play.
Boys 8th Grade Coach
Jared Rivers
I played high school basketball at Christ the King from 2013-2016 where I was blessed to win 2 New York State Championships. Playing alongside NBA up and coming star Jose Alvardo along with other talented players was an amazing opportunity to challenge myself and grow as a player and a person. I then went on to play collegiate basketball at LIU Post and Adelphi University. I am currently a Physical Education Teacher in a charter school as well.
Boys 4th Grade Coach
Brandon Becker
Coach Becker played varsity basketball at Plainview JFK High School under Coach Mike Harris. Most recently he worked for Hoops 101, an international basketball training company where he focused on footwork, proper mechanics, and the detailed breakdown of movement on the court to simplify basketball skills. Brandon was the Assistant Basketball Director at Camp Wah-Nee and has also worked at college camps including Hofstra's basketball camp.
Boys 10th Grade Coach
Stu Coleman
Stu Coleman is a graduate of St. Joseph's College and Syosset High School. He played Varsity Basketball at Syosset, receiving All Nassau County honors. He also played four years at St. Joseph's College. Coach Coleman has over six years of coaching experience, which includes AAU. He is a member of the LuHi JV and Varsity staff. In addition, he is a Nassau County Board referee.
Boys 7th Grade Coach
Joe Cavallaro
Coach Joe Cavallaro went to Harborfields High School and is going back this year to coach their Junior Varsity basketball team. After high school, he studied at St. Johns University for four years where he was able to work under Coach Chris Mullin with the Men's Basketball team. Coach Cavallaro has a strong passion for defense and player development.
Boys 9th Grade Coach
Joseph Grupski
My coaching career started at Adelphi University where I was a College Assistant Coach from 2015-2018. Beginning the 2019 season I joined the staff at St. Dominic High School under Mike Kelly as his varsity assistant coach. After that season I was promoted to Freshman Head Coach which was my first official head coach position. Following my first season I then became the JV Head Coach which is still my current position. Besides coaching I have worked at many camps and clinics at Adelphi, NYU, John Jay, Stony Brook, Hofstra and Syracuse University. As well I work with NBA Champion Danny Green on organizing and directing his Team Green Basketball Camp.
Coach/Trainer
Noah Shy
Coach Noah played his high school basketball at Valley Stream North , played 3 years of varsity while being all conference his sophomore year and the next two following years being all county and senior year being Top 50 player in Long Island. He played my collegiate career at Brooklyn College for 4 years , won a CUNYAC championship in 2019-2020 . Was CUNYAC game MVP and part of all tournament team . Senior year he was all CUNYAC team and 1000 point scorer. Got his degree in exercise science and specializing in athletic training.
"The biggest transition from player to coach is seeing the game from a different perspective and understanding all those years my coaches would tell me specifics about coaching it would all impact me even more because im going through what they we’re visualizing."
Boys 5th Grade Coach
Brandon Jacobs
I am currently a Graduate Assistant for the Hofstra men's basketball team. Before joining Hofstra, I played 4 years at Pace University, and was named captain for three of those years. While at Pace University I broke three different assists record and played in the NCAA National Tournament. I am excited to get to work and help the next generation of student athletes!
Boys 5th Grade Coach
Chris Rube
Coach Rube is currently the Boys Varsity Head Coach at Kings Park High School. He was the League IV (Suffolk A) 2019 Coach of the year and continues to take the Kings Park program to new levels. In addition to his coaching abilities, coach was a two-time captain during his collegiate career at SUNY Fredonia. Coach is eager to work with the boys and is passionate about teaching the fundamentals of the game.
Boys 5th Grade Coach
Blake Waldron
I am currently a Graduate Assistant for the Hofstra Men's Basketball team. Before Hofstra, I played competitive basketball for the Mass Rivals under the legendary coach Vin Pastore. I also have over 6 years of training experience with NBA and college athletes.
Boys 4th Grade Coach
Spencer Malloy
Coach Malloy played his high school basketball at Commack High School. There he led Commack to their first league title in 24 years and was named All league two times, All County one time, All Conference one time, and All State one time. He was named 2019-2020 League Player of the Year. Currently Coach Molloy is playing basketball at Saint Joseph's University on Long Island. There he has been named a Freshman captain of the basketball team and also is recognized on the All Conference First Team, D3Hoops All Regional team and All-Met Division III Third Team.