New Head Basketball Coach Announced For Strongsville

STRONGSVILLE, OH — The Strongsville High School varsity basketball team has a new head coach. John Lipowski, who has been a coach in the district's basketball program for 19 years, will lead the Mustangs into next season.

“Coach Lipowski has been a great coach and mentor to our basketball team over a number of years. We are excited for him to take on this varsity head coaching role in our program and continue to have an impact on our student-athletes,” said Mark Smithberger, Strongsville High School Principal.

A 1991 graduate of Strongsville High School, Lipowski has been a science teacher in the district for more than two decades. He has spent time coaching the middle school basketball teams and the Strongsville High School freshman team from 2013-2018.

He led the varsity team during the final eight games of the 2017-2018 season. He also coached four games in the OHSAA Post Season Tournament. The Mustangs' playoff run ended with a three-point loss in the Elyria Division I District Final to eventual State Final Four qualifier Lorain High School.

Strongsville started the 2017-2018 season 2-12 before controversial head coach Joe Guilfoyle was relieved of his duties. That's when Lipowski took over and the team went 5-7 the rest of the way, including their tournament games.

Guilfoyle was relieved of his duties in early 2018 after it was revealed he had used profane language around players and had been in a physical confrontation involving another coach, Fox 8 reported. Guilfoyle was hired in May 2017 when Strongsville stole him away from North Royalton.

“The Strongsville Mustangs basketball program has been a special part of my life for almost 20 years. I am excited to embrace my dream of being able to deliver a basketball program that fully embraces our student-athletes, unites each of our schools, and extends out into the community that I have been able to call home for my entire life. I am anxious to instill an atmosphere of ‘Brotherhood’ that will serve as the foundation for many years of success in the Greater Cleveland Conference.

"Our entire staff will be fully committed to meeting the needs of our young men and will strive to prepare them not only for success on the court, but also to provide them with countless opportunities to develop and strengthen the interpersonal skills and character attributes needed in order to be productive and impactful members of society,” said Lipowski.

Photo from Strongsville Schools