Doug Erickson

Doug Erickson
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Doug Erickson
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Head Coach Doug Erickson

E-Mail: douglaserickson@earthlink.net

Doug Erickson begins his 8th season as Head Coach of the Andrew Thunderbolts Girls Basketball Program.He begins his 18th year as part of the Andrew High School Community.

Coach Erickson spent 10 years in the Boys Basketball Program at all three levels and 10 years as the Freshman Softball Coach at Andrew.While the Boys Sophomore Basketball Coach, Doug's team captured the 1994-95 SICA West Conference Championship.

Doug is the President of More to Life Ministries, a nondenominational Christian youth outreach ministry.He is a graduate of Eisenhower High School in Blue Island.Doug received a degree in Business/Economics from Bethel College in Saint Paul, Minnesota.During his days at Bethel College, Coach Erickson was a member of the basketball team for three seasons.

Coach Erickson has compiled a 108-84 record in his first seven seasons with the Thunderbolts.During the past four seasons, Doug has transformed the Thunderbolts into an elite program not only in the south suburbs of Chicago but in the entire state of Illinois.In the breakthrough season of 1998-99, the T-Bolts compiled a record of 25 wins and only 5 defeats.The Thunderbolts were SICA West Conference Champions, IHSA Class AA Regional and Sectional Champions.The Thunderbolts advanced to the Sweet 16 of the Illinois State Tournament, a first in school history.The achievements of the Andrew Thunderbolts prompted the Daily Southtown Newspaper to name Doug Erickson the 1998-99 Girls Basketball Coach of the Year.
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Coach Erickson also became the all-time leader in girls basketball victories (89) during the 2000-2001 season.

The 2001-2002 campaign saw the Thunderbolts continue the tradition of excellence.Andrew concluded the 2001-2002 season with a record of 16 wins and 12 defeat, which was the T-Bolts' fourth straight winning season.The Thunderbolts won the Andrew Thanksgiving Tournament for a third straight year.Andrew also finished in fourth place the State Farm Holiday Classic.The season highlight was its third IHSA Regional Championship in four years.During the 2001-2002 season, Doug also became only the second coach in Andrew Basketball history to record 100 victories, joining former boys coach Mike Walaszek in this elite club.Doug's total wins of 105 leaves him three wins short of becoming the all-time wins leader in Andrew Basketball history.

The 2002-2003 edition of the Thunderbolts saw Andrew tumble to an overall mark of 3 wins and 23 defeats.Andrew was young with only 3 seniors on the squad.The Thunderbolts will rely on the nine returning players from this team to rebound in the 2003-2004 season.Coach Erickson was able to tie Mike Walaszek for the most wins of any basketball coach at Andrew High School with 108 victories.With Andrew's first win in 2003-2004, Doug will become the all-time wins leader in the history of Andrew Basketball.

Doug is married to Kari, a physical education teacher at Andrew.

"At times we play well," Thunderbolts coach Doug Erickson said."We're just so inexperienced at the varsity level.Hopefully, the inexperience of this year will turn into experience next season, with nine girls coming back."

"And that happens when you have kids who aren't used to shooting them (3-pointers) all the time under pressure," Andrew coach Doug Erickson said."But we had some great plays.Our freshman (Brosius) hit two threes.

"They did a nice job on Dawn," Andrew coach Doug Erickson said."Our 20-point-a-game scorer was taken out, and nobody else did anything.

"I thought we came out flat, and they came out with more energy.You can't play only one quarter in this conference.We're three games out, and basically out of the conference (Stagg leads the SICA West with a 5-0 mark.) We haven't played well in our conference yet."

"Their press really hurt us," said Andrew coach Doug Erickson."It might not have been the best press we've seen, but it was the most effective ... we pressed them a little bit in the third quarter to try to get us some energy."

Urbana 59, Richwoods 45