Streetsboro girls basketball head coach Carl Singer reacts after cutting down the net on Wednesday night in celebration of his team’s league championship.
Pauline Dierkens/Portage Sports

By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

“Getting to Know” is a standard Portage Sports feature created to spotlight the coaches and administrators that are guiding today’s Portage County student-athletes to be tomorrow’s leaders.

Today, we get to know Streetsboro High School wrestling coach Carl Singer, who is in his ninth season leading the Rockets.

Q: Hometown?

A: Defiance, Ohio.

Q: High school?

A: Fairview High School. Class of 2003. Played golf, basketball and baseball.

Q: College?

A: Kent State University. Class of 2007. Degree in secondary mathematics (grades 7 through 12).

Q: Current occupation?

A: Seventh grade math teacher at Streetsboro Middle School.

Q: What inspired you to be a coach?

A: Even when I was young, I enjoyed making up teams with professional players and playing out games and situations by myself in the driveway. Obviously, I enjoyed the playing part, but I liked making up the teams and situations just as much.

Q: What makes being a coach at Streetsboro special to you?

A: When I look at how the program has grown, it makes me very proud of what we have done. I have had a lot of help along the way, but taking the worst girls basketball program in Portage County history and seeing where we are now is a great accomplishment that so many have contributed to. Being that I work here, coach here, live here and my kids go here, I take a lot of pride in successes in the community that I can contribute to.

Q: Who has been your biggest influence?

A: Everybody that I have coached with, especially here at Streetsboro, has taught me something. I have also learned a lot from our boys coach, Nick Marcini, as he has given me advice on many different things. My biggest influence, though, are my kids. I want to do the best that I can so they can see me do something I love and be proud of how hard I work to do a good job.

Q: Funny story nobody would believe from your playing days?

A: When our coach walked in at halftime of a game and asked the team how we thought we were playing, I used an inappropriate word to describe our play. While he agreed, he told me I still had 50 pushups for my language that I decided to do before we came out for the second half.

Q: Funny story nobody would believe from your coaching career?

A: Early on in coaching at Streetsboro, we were playing a game at Springfield, and I was very unhappy with how we were playing. I am watching the clock as the buzzer sounds, and I stormed off the court into the locker room and start pacing around thinking about what I was going to say to get our girls to wake up. I continued to pace for another minute or two, but nobody came in the locker. Now I was really mad, wondering what was going on, so I walked back into the gym only to realize that it was the end of the first quarter and it was not halftime yet. I laughed and at that point just told the girls they are lucky to have another quarter to play until halftime.

Q: Favorite TV show?

A: There are a lot but 24 and How I Met Your Mother stand out.

Q: Favorite movie?

A: Again, there are a lot, but I always say Tommy Boy. As a basketball coach, Hoosiers is up there, too!

Q: Favorite musical artist?

A: I don’t listen to a ton of music, but 80’s is always good.

Q: Favorite food/meal?

A: Crab legs.

Q: Best vacation?

A: Hawaii was an amazing vacation and taking my kids to Disney this past summer was great.

Q:  Favorite motto?

A: Life is too short to not be happy!

Q: Describe your coaching philosophy?

A: I think coaching all starts with the ability to inspire others to be their best. Leading by using fear can definitely be motivating but I think that has its limit. But if the players are inspired to be their best, there is no limit. As far as the Xs and Os, at the high-school level, I think the most successful programs adapt their strategy to the personnel they have and not go with the one size fits all approach.

Q: Favorite restaurant?

A: Winking Lizard.

Q: Favorite teacher from high school?

A: Mr. Shininger.

Q: Advice you would give the younger version of you?

A: In general, just appreciate everything you have. In terms of coaching, I would tell myself to find good mentors to learn from so I would have known a lot more than I did when I started being a head coach.

Q: Favorite coach from your playing days?

A: My middle-school coach was great. He got us to play really hard all the time and believe in how good we were.

Q: Coaching resume?

A: I started as the freshman girls coach at Bedford in 2007. Then I got promoted and was the JV girls coach from 2008-2012. I did one season as the jv boys basketball coach at Bedford before I got the job at Streetsboro. I have been the head coach at Streetsboro since the 15-16 season.

Q: Favorite sports team?

A: I am an Indianapolis Colts fan and a fan of the college football national champion Michigan Wolverines.

Q: Favorite athlete then?

A: Michael Jordan.

Q: Favorite athlete now?

A: Caitlin Clark.

Q: First job as a teenager?

A: My first real job was at a factory.

Q: Family member that always gave you the best advice?

A: My dad always made it a point that if I was going to do something, to do it right.

Q: Halloween costume last year?

A: Anytime I get asked when I am walking around with my kids, my response is that I am a basketball coach.

Q: Favorite video game (then or now)?

A: Many of these, as well, but Madden and college football were always a yearly purchase.

Q: Favorite candy?

A: Sour Patch Kids.

Q: First car?

A: Ford Taurus.

Q: Best friend(s)?

A: My wife, of course.

Q: Most memorable moment as a player?

A: Nothing like hitting a game-winner, and even though it was in eighth grade, that is one I won’t forget.

Q: Most memorable moment as a coach?

A: Every year when I talk to the seniors and make sure they know how much they have meant to me and our program.