Lauren Ross traveled all over the Midwest - all over the country, really - while playing Division I college basketball, but she always had her mind on coming home to West Michigan, and now she has after being named Montague girls basketball coach in June.
Ross takes over from Jess DeBruin, the Wildcats' head athletic trainer, who stepped down from coaching after three seasons and will continue in her position as trainer.
Ross starred at Reeths-Puffer, where she graduated in 2020 as the program's all-time leading scorer, and played at Western Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue-Fort Wayne. At her last stop, she became the first Division I player to ever lead the country in three-point percentage and free throw percentage in a season. She earned a bachelor's degree at WMU and a master's at PFW and will work in the MHS counseling office.
While earning her master's, Ross was an assistant coach at PFW last season, but because of her desire to return home, she knew her future in coaching was at the high school level. When Montague's job opened, Ross' connection with Wildcats' boys coach Nick Thaler - who's also a WMU Bronco and, while coaching the Montague girls, brought one of his teams to visit Ross when she was rehabbing a knee injury during her time in Kalamazoo - made her a natural fit. In addition to that connection, Ross said her mother Kim is a Montague alum.
"I reached out to him right away when I saw that there was an opening and I just went through the process and decided whether or not this is what I wanted to do," Ross said. "I was able to have a little open gym with the girls prior to taking the job. I saw the potential. The four-win season last year doesn't paint a picture of what this program can do. It's not going to happen overnight, but I think we can get somewhere."
Like many coaches, Ross has a catchy way to sum up her coaching philosophy - character, commitment and championship habits. She's jumped into the program with both feet, coaching the Wildcat JVs at last week's JV girls basketball league tournament in Whitehall and helping run the Montague basketball youth camp the rest of the week.
"Character's who we are, commitment is how we go about everything in our daily actions, and the championship habits are just all the little things that are going to lead us to success when things get hard," Ross said.
Thaler knew Ross was a great basketball player when she put her name in for the girls coaching job, but over the course of her interview what stood out to him was her desire to give her time and her talent in the service of helping the next generation of players.
"She is the type of individual that's going to pour into our kids, and that's what we want in the building," Thaler said. "That's what we want for our programs, is somebody that's going to be invested and cares about the kids, and she does. She's already put in a ton of time with the girls and it's been great, just seeing her grow into that leadership role.
"When she first came in for her interview and ran a practice right on the spot, one day went by, and kids were already asking me, 'Where's Coach Lo at?' They were already asking where she was, which is obviously a sign that they liked the things that she was doing."
Ross didn't have to wait long to prove her desire to provide her time to young Montague athletes, as she coached the Wildcat JVs during the final two days of Whitehall's JV girls basketball league, in which Montague participated, then turned around and aided Thaler in running the Montague youth basketball camp the rest of that week, herding dozens of young players around the Wildcat gym.
"I think (it was important to) have them see my face right away and show them that I'm willing to just do whatever they need right away," Ross said. "I think getting to know them and getting to build relationships as early and as often as possible is really going to be important for me."
Ross' arrival is significant for several reasons, but two stick out to Thaler. First is that, for the first time in a long time at Montague, both basketball coaches will be working in the district full-time, making it easy to, as coaches say, recruit the hallways and build enthusiasm for their team on a day-to-day basis. Second, the hope is that Ross will provide continuity to the girls basketball program, which has had very little of it in recent years. The Wildcats have evidence of what the team can do when a coach sticks around; Cody Kater led the team to conference and district championships during a five-year term in the position. No one has gone more than three seasons since, but Ross creates optimism for a bright future.
"Even though I've really never stepped foot in those doors, it just felt like home," Ross said. "It just felt like a place where I wanted to give back and honestly, I'm so thankful that it's in West Michigan, because I think there's such a need. This area has done so much for me in my career and supported me throughout every step of the journey, so I think being able to give back to these girls and to the next generation is big for me."
