Coach Sebach is retiring from Regional 7

By Rex Crippen

Doug Sebach, Boys’ Varsity Head Basketball Coach at Northwestern Regional 7 High School (NW7), announced his retirement earlier this season.

Sebach, who had served Northwestern as a coach for 22 years, ended his tenure with 332 career wins, six regular season Berkshire League championships and three postseason Berkshire League championships.

Coach Sebach was a staple in Northwestern’s rich program history, producing imminent talent, and was recognized as a prominent teacher on and off the court. The coach recalled many memorable moments with past teams, including the 2017-18 team where they won the championship and the coach cooked the team Beef Wellington. Sebach mentioned that moments like those were what made his decision to retire even harder.

When Sebach first started coaching at Northwestern, he was torn between the decision of being the baseball or the basketball coach, which he said were both great positions. He ultimately decided basketball was a better situation for him and became completely committed to the program.

Recalling the many NW7 teams that had great success, like the 2011-12 team and the 2005-06 team, he also gives a lot of credit to the 2010-11 team, he said, because of how many freshmen stepped up to help that season. Another team he gave great credit to was the 2018-19 team, where Captain Zack Penn led the team to the finals in a year they thought would be much less positive. Although it end-ed in an overtime loss in the finals, Penn led the team with 25 points even with four teammates ruled out for the game.

While Sebach said he will miss his job as coach, he will take great memories with him and he said he feels he is leaving the program in good hands. He saw consistent talent still at the school and a great and talented assistant coach in Brendan Fritch. Coach Fritch was part of the reason Sebach knew it was the right time to step away, he said, noting that Fritch has a very good eye for the game and has always been around it.

With all the help and support Sebach has given Northwestern as a whole, the coach gave full credit to the players, parents and the association for their help throughout his career. As both his coaching and teaching now come to a close he said he is looking forward to exploring the world, connecting with family and doing lots of fishing and cooking.

Editor’s Note: Rex Crippen just finished his sophomore year at NW7 and played varsity basketball under Coach Sebach