LANSING, Mich. - Perhaps no one has been more instrumental in engineering Great Lakes Christian College athletics' recent success than athletics director and men's basketball coach Richard Westerlund. Since his arrival at Great Lakes in 2018, the program has grown to three varsity teams and also launched a JV men's basketball team. Women's soccer and women's volleyball are planned in 2020 with even more in the works.
On the court, GLCC's men's basketball program set a program record for wins in 2019, reached two consecutive regional finals and qualified for the NCCAA II national tournament in each of Westerlund's first two seasons at the helm. The team was also ranked atop NCCAA II polls during the 2020 season, a program first.
Westerlund took over the women's basketball team on an interim basis during the 2020 season as well, guiding the team to their first two wins in two seasons.
What is your background in sports?
I played all sports growing up. I was a three-sport athlete in high school (basketball, baseball, soccer), I was first-team all-conference in all three. I then played three sports at Lancaster Bible College: soccer for four years (all-conference), baseball for four years (all-region) and basketball for one year. Basketball has always been my favorite, though, even though baseball was my best sport. I knew I wanted to be a basketball coach since my sophomore year of high school.
What is your favorite accomplishment at GLCC?
National runner-up. That was an incredible group of guys who sacrificed and bought in. I wish we could have won it all, but that run and the way we came back was extremely special to me. (Also) coaching our women's basketball team to their first win this year. Just really awesome to see those girls work extremely hard and be rewarded for their commitment
What are your goals for this season? Long-term?
We want to continue to change our best. We're still hunting for that first region and national championship, so we'd love to cross those off our list. Long term: continue to see our department grow, we've gone from 30 student-athletes my first year to this coming year, we're projected to have 80. We want to continue to offer students tremendous experience while adding more sports. I want to continue to strive for all our programs to compete for championships on and off the floor.
What are you most looking forward to about getting back to school?
Getting that face-to-face and day-to-day contact with our student-athletes. I really miss those daily interactions.
What do you do when you're not coaching/playing/watching sports?
Spend time with my wife, and travel.
What are you doing during quarantine?
I've been reading a lot, recruiting, and really just taking advantage of this extra time I get with my wife.
How have sports influenced your life as a Christian?
I mean without sports I wouldn't be where I am at. My coaches have been my biggest mentors spiritually and through life. It's why I got into coaching, because I wanted that same type of impact with my guys. I believe sports provide tremendous growth moments and life lessons.