Robinson Secondary School out of Fairfax, VA has hired Travis Hess as its new Head Basketball Coach.
Hess, who'll turn 36 later this month, comes to the Rams after spending the past three seasons at South County. His tenure with the Stallions was highlighted by leading them to the Patriot Conference 7 Tournament Championship as a #7 seed in 2015.
"Ultimately, the main reason was family. I live 2.5 miles from Robinson, Hess told VirginiaPreps.com.
"When I originally got the South County job, I thought about moving to that community and would've loved to do that, but sometimes it's difficult to do that financially just to buy a new house. With two little ones, it was a tough balancing act this past season, so when this opportunity presented itself, my wife and I sat down and thought it was a no-brainer."
Prior to going to South County, Hess was the Head Coach at Langley, where he posted a record of 146-66 in six seasons. During his time there, the Saxons made the regional semifinals on three occasions and qualified for the Group AAA State Tournament twice (2008 and 2010).
Hess replaces Brian Nelson, who spent the past eight seasons at the Rams' Head Coach. Nelson was an assistant of Hess at Langley before taking the Robinson job, so the two share similar philosophies coaching wise.
In 2015-16, Robinson finished 13-12 overall, beating South Lakes 56-49 in the opening round of the 6A-North Region Tournament before falling to West Potomac 59-53 in the quarterfinals. Three of the top four scorers from that team are slated to return, led by Class of 2017 point guard Markos Eyob (14.5PPG, 62 3's).
"From a basketball standpoint, it's a great situation. It's a great school both academically and athletically, plus it's a big school with 3000-plus kids. I think the basketball feeder system does a a really nice job of having kids ready to go in terms of fundamentals. They return a lot of guys. It's a team that can win right away and I don't think there will be a steep learning curve, so I'm very fortunate and happy."
Hess, who'll turn 36 later this month, comes to the Rams after spending the past three seasons at South County. His tenure with the Stallions was highlighted by leading them to the Patriot Conference 7 Tournament Championship as a #7 seed in 2015.
"Ultimately, the main reason was family. I live 2.5 miles from Robinson, Hess told VirginiaPreps.com.
"When I originally got the South County job, I thought about moving to that community and would've loved to do that, but sometimes it's difficult to do that financially just to buy a new house. With two little ones, it was a tough balancing act this past season, so when this opportunity presented itself, my wife and I sat down and thought it was a no-brainer."
Prior to going to South County, Hess was the Head Coach at Langley, where he posted a record of 146-66 in six seasons. During his time there, the Saxons made the regional semifinals on three occasions and qualified for the Group AAA State Tournament twice (2008 and 2010).
Hess replaces Brian Nelson, who spent the past eight seasons at the Rams' Head Coach. Nelson was an assistant of Hess at Langley before taking the Robinson job, so the two share similar philosophies coaching wise.
In 2015-16, Robinson finished 13-12 overall, beating South Lakes 56-49 in the opening round of the 6A-North Region Tournament before falling to West Potomac 59-53 in the quarterfinals. Three of the top four scorers from that team are slated to return, led by Class of 2017 point guard Markos Eyob (14.5PPG, 62 3's).
"From a basketball standpoint, it's a great situation. It's a great school both academically and athletically, plus it's a big school with 3000-plus kids. I think the basketball feeder system does a a really nice job of having kids ready to go in terms of fundamentals. They return a lot of guys. It's a team that can win right away and I don't think there will be a steep learning curve, so I'm very fortunate and happy."
