Dave Forster returns to Sierra Grande as girls basketball coach
Sierra Grande has brought Dave Forster back to its school, hiring the highly-successful coach to helm their girls basketball team.
Athletic director Matt Lucero announced the hire on Tuesday night.
“We welcome Dave Forster back to the Sierra Grande family,” Lucero said.
Forster, who has more than 40 years of coaching experience, was the head coach at Sierra Grande from 1988-98, leading them to the Great 8 three times, and a runner-up finish in 1992. A 1981 graduate of Adams State, Forster has a career record of 477-187 in 29 years as a girls basketball coach, and 43-12 as a boys basketball coach.
Forster, a 2019 inductee to the CHSCA Hall of Fame, spent the 2019-20 season as the head coach for the Sangre de Cristo girls. The Thunderbirds went 20-4 and reached the Class 1A state tournament.
He has also spent time as a coach at Sanford, and was a volunteer assistant at Adams State in 2018-19, but is perhaps most well-known for his 20-year stay at Centauri from 1998-2018. In that time, he led the Falcons to the 2006 championship and 323 wins. They reached the Great 8 a total of 10 times in her tenure, and the Final 4 four times.
Forster has also coached football, track and cross country.
Sierra Grande went 7-14 last season in Class 1A. The Panthers haven’t reached the state tournament since 2008-09, but have made consistent appearances at regionals.
