Coach Bruce Chavka is entering his eighth year at the helm of the Titan basketball program.  The Titans finished the 2012-13 season at the NWAACC tournament with a 21-10 record and a number one ranking for several weeks.  Coach Chavka came from league rival Southwestern Oregon Community College where he served as the assistant men's basketball coach.  

Coach Chavka has over 20 years of teaching and coaching experience.  Prior to coming to Oregon in 2005, he was the head basketball coach at Napa Valley Community College in California.

Coach C, as he is known among his players, also served as a head high school coach at Middle Park High School in Granby, Colorado, and at La Veta High School in Southern Colorado.

The Colorado native is a graduate of Western State College where he served as an assistant coach to Fred Litzenberger and Bob Hofman. Coach C has also served as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, as well as the assistant basketball coach and head men's golf coach at Lamar Community College in Colorado.   Coach C also served as a graduate assistant at University of Northern Colorado.

Currently, Coach Chavka serves on the Athletic Leadership Committee at Lane Community College and as a mentor to local kids through Lane County’s Committed Partners for Youth.

Coach C has a long standing tradition of volunteering his team for the annual Whiteaker free community Thanksgiving dinner that serves Lane County’s less fortunate.

Coach C is a proud product of the community college system.  He attended Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colorado, where he was a shooting guard.

Coach C holds a Bachelors of Science degree in physical education and a Bachelors of Arts degree in history.  Coach Chavka has a Master’s degree in Athletic Administration and Coaching from Concordia University at Irvine. He is the proud father of a 9 year old daughter, named Hadley, whose favorite teams are the Denver Broncos and the Lane Titans.

Coach Chavka is very excited, enthusiastic and optimistic about the journey that lies ahead.

 

Tyler Hollingsworth - Assistant Coach

Tyler Hollingsworth begins his seventh season with the Lane Community College Men's basketball program; Two as a player and five as a coach. As a former player for LCC, Tyler was a two year captain who demonstrated great leadership and added an intense work ethic. Those same qualities are demonstrated in his coaching and are what he looks for and expects of his players.

Tyler graduated from North Salem high school in 2003.  As a student athlete he obtained nine varsity letters in 4 different sports. Tyler graduated with a 3.7 GPA, was a four time honor student and was given Student Athlete of the Year honors his senior year.  He has also won two nationals titles in racquetball.  Originally going to college to play tennis, he transferred to LCC to play his first passion, basketball.

After LCC, Tyler transferred to the University of Oregon, where he earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Anthropology. He then went on to earn his Masters in Teaching at Pacific University. He will be beginning his first year as a teacher at Creswell High School this fall. Tyler currently resides in Creswell with his wife Jessie and their two dogs.

Birthday: June 23, 1985

Hometown: Salem, OR

 

Gabe Palmquist-Clark - Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator

 

503-459-2460

pquist92@gmail.com

Portland Native Gabe Palmquist-Clark starts his second season on staff with the Lane Titans.  Coach Palmquist-Clark is a graduate of Cleveland High School where he played and was an assistant coach for Don Emry.  Coach Emry, who has been a high school coach in Oregon for 40 years, is a big influence and a mentor in Coach Palmquist-Clark’s life.

 Now a senior at the University of Oregon, Coach Palmquist-Clark is majoring in Sports Business.  He has coached at various college basketball camps, including Marquette, Arizona and Gonzaga.  He has an older brother Nick and a sister Colette.  Coach Palmquist-Clark’s mother Jennifer is an attorney and resides in Portland.

Gabe Handles all things recruiting for the Titans. He takes pride in identifying and recruiting top talent. The Titan program will benefit with Coach PC’s recruiting efforts and contacts in the Northwest States.

One interesting fact regarding Coach Palmquist-Clark is that he never missed a day of school in high school.  He comes from a family of outstanding athletes.  Coach Palmquist-Clark’s Uncle Rick Weidig, an alumni of Churchill High School, played at Lane Community College for the legendary Dale J. Bates from 1974-1976.  Rick was team MVP and First Team All-Conference during his time with the Titans. 

 

Jeff Larson - Assistant Coach

Coach Larson rejoins the Titans coaching staff for a third season after a two year hiatus in which he served as the head coach at Mohawk High School in Marcola, OR. Larson’s most successful season at Mohawk came in the 2011-12 season where he guided the Indians to an 11-3 league record.

Larson graduated from Kelseyville High School in 2004, where he was a three year letter winner in basketball.  At KHS he was named to the all-North Central League and all-Lake County basketball teams three times.  Larson also participated in track and football earning him a total of eight varsity letters.

Larson was recruited by and played for Coach Chavka at Napa Valley College.  He was a starter for NVC for two seasons and set school records for 3-pointers in a game (9) and in a season (113).  In 2006, he was named honorable mention all-conference as well as academic all-conference for the Bay Valley Conference.

Larson transferred to Linfield College where he played one season.  He was named the JV team’s best newcomer in 2008 and his season was highlighted by a 30 point game in a win against Concordia University.  In his final year at Linfield, Larson began his collegiate coaching career as he served as the J.V. head coach.

Larson received a Master’s Degree in School Counseling from Northwest Christian University (2011) and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Linfield College (2009).   Larson is employed by the University of Oregon as an Access Adviser for the Accessible Education Center.