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BEAVERTON – Joel Sobotka is ready to take Valley Catholic athletics to new places.

And it all happened because he finally decided he was ready to settle down.

Sobotka, the former head men’s basketball coach at Portland State, was introduced at the end of April as the athletic director and head boys basketball coach at Valley Catholic.

Sobotka’s hiring – he hopes – will put an end to what has been the nomadic lifestyle he’s lived for most his adult life as a college men’s basketball coach.

Sobotka, who most recently served six years as an assistant at University of Portland, said he’s thrilled to be at Valley Catholic and ready to put down roots.

“The first time I spoke to the (boys basketball) team, I told them ‘In no way am I interested in being at another school. This is where I want to be,’” Sobotka said. “I have such a peace inside that I’m going to be here for a while.”

Sobotka, 41, succeeds Jeff Gallagher as both varsity boys basketball coach and athletic director. Gallagher served 10 seasons as the school’s head boys basketball coach, leading the team to the 2007 Class 3A state championship, and to sixth at state in each of the past two seasons.

The Valiants, under Gallagher’s leadership, also won the Oregonian Cup for the 2011-12 school year, an award indicative of the school’s best-in-state success in athletics and activities.

For Sobotka, the chance to settle in and work has already shown rewards, especially following his long travels through the world of college basketball.

Sobotka served as head coach at PSU from 1998-02 (when he was the youngest D1 head coach in the country), then served as an assistant coach at Cal State Northridge for three before joining the Pilots. He has also served as an assistant general manager with the Harlem Globetrotters and as a graduate assistant at Arizona State. A 1993 graduate of ASU, Sobotka began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Eastern Oregon from 1993-95).

No spreads. Rules on food are rough. We should just be allowed to feed them using the same guidelines as official visits

Spent embarrassing amount of time today on NCAA rule of "Fruits, Nuts, Bagels" This video helped clarify

DoubleDipper wrote:Coach Rev has been railing about the absurd NCAA rules regulating the feeding of his players for a couple of now.

No spreads. Rules on food are rough. We should just be allowed to feed them using the same guidelines as official visits

Spent embarrassing amount of time today on NCAA rule of "Fruits, Nuts, Bagels" This video helped clarify

No Peanut Butter!

After 18 years of coaching college basketball, including four seasons as the head coach at Portland State and six as the lead assistant on Eric Reveno's staff at the University of Portland, Sobotka quickly decided to tackle a new set of challenges at the high school level.

Thomas' phone call came about a month after UP's 2011-12 season, when Sobotka was heavily involved with recruiting.

"The week before that, I remember sitting in mass on Easter Sunday and wondering, 'What's going to come next? Is this where I'm supposed to be?'" Sobotka said. "So I get this phone call and I'm sitting there listening and thinking, 'Wow, this is kind of eerie and pretty amazing.'"