Mishawaka Marian hires Matt Sobieralski as new boys basketball head coach

Eight days before he was officially hired as Mishawaka Marian’s new boys basketball head coach, Monday, May 11, Matt Sobieralski led a rosary in the high school’s chapel for assistant coach Brian Foster, who is currently hospitalized following a serious car accident Friday, May 1. Foster underwent successful neck surgery on the day of the rosary, and Sobieralski interviewed for the position just two days later. Leading up to the interview, Sobieralski admitted to still dealing with the raw emotions of one of his fellow coaches and close friends having gone through such a traumatic event, but he thought back to interactions he and Foster often had during their time together with the Knights for reassurance.

“He would always dap me up and say, ‘You’re the next guy,’ in his Brian kind of way,” Sobieralski said. “I did use that. It was an influential way of being able to get through that interview.

It’s been a roller coaster. ” Foster’s wife, Natasha, texted Sobieralski to congratulate him on the new position, and Sobieralski promised to visit Foster at Memorial Hospital to personally tell him the news. It’s relationships like those that may have been Sobieralski’s biggest strength during the interview process, as he has dedicated more than half of his life to Marian.

First, it was as a student. Then, for the past 16 years, it has been as a teacher and coach. Athletic Director Steve Ravotto knows that while this is Sobieralski’s first IHSAA head coaching job, his experience as a Knight is invaluable and unparalleled by fellow applicants.