Ready to get started Kalamatas talks HHS hoops
HUNTLEY — Huntley boys varsity basketball players went through the paces during a Monday afternoon first day of summer camp.
The start to this camp had a different feel, as a new head coach was calling the drills and giving instructions. Collin Kalamatas once donned the Red Raiders’ red-and-black in the early 2000s and teaches physical education at HHS. He was named head coach June 8, with the appointment needing Board of Education approval, probably at the June 15 meeting.
“The opportunity to guide Huntley basketball is an incredible opportunity,” Kalamatas said. “It’s something I’ve always dreamed about and being able to follow through with it now is something I will take very seriously. I’m excited to get started, but at the same time, the amount of work going into it will be a lot. I’m focused on being prepared and taking a detailed approach into this job.”
Kalamatas, who will continue as varsity boys golf coach, becomes the fourth Huntley grad to currently lead a program. Others are girls and boys soccer coach Matt Lewandowski; boys and girls swim coach Jenna Gaudio and cheerleaders coach Payton Cariato. The Red Raiders also have 10 assistant coaches on staff who once competed at Huntley.
Kalamatas, who graduated in 2005, and his wife Jenn, both have a hoops background as Red Raiders as Jenn played for girls head coach Steve Raethz. The couple have a son, Calvin, who is 7-years-old, and a daughter, Adelyn, who is 4.
It was at his family’s home in Lake in the Hills where Kalamatas’ coaching and teaching interests began.
“My love for teaching and basketball comes from my dad,” Kalamatas said. “He was in education for almost 40 years and coached basketball at the college level. He got my love of basketball started at an early age. After that, Marty Manning (boys basketball coach at Huntley from 2006-14) and Raethz were huge influences on me early in my coaching career. I learned a lot of disciplines and habits from them.”
Kalamatas’ dad, Chris, served as principal at Hampshire High School from 2001-05, also as an educator and principal at Chicago Public Schools for more than 30 years. He coached men’s basketball teams at Northeastern University in Chicago in the 1970s and 1980s. Mom Beth worked at now Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital before retiring in 2019.
After HHS, Kalamatas played hoops for two seasons at McHenry County College and then completed his Physical Education degree at Northern Illinois University.
Kalamatas coached the girls hoops teams of Burlington Central’s Rockets the past four seasons with his teams chalking up 87 wins and three regional tournaments titles.
“We were lucky enough to have some very successful seasons at Burlington Central,” Kalamatas said. “It was a combination of a very talented group of kids and an administration that allowed me to come in and try some things that I felt would help the program elevate. I was very satisfied with the time I spent there and where we left the program after my four-year run. It was an experience I consider to be very lucky to have gone through.”
Athletic Director Glen Wilson welcomed Kalamatas to the boys basketball position.
“We are very excited to name Coach Kalamatas our head boys basketball coach,” Wilson said. “Kalamatas’ experiences and engagement of students blends well with the tenor and culture of our boys basketball program. We look forward to his leadership, his perspective as an HHS boys basketball alum and zeal to help our students to grow and develop.”
Kalamatas succeeds Will Benson as boys basketball head coach. Benson’s teams won 136 total games over nine seasons, and two regional championships. Benson was hired as head boys basketball coach at Stevenson High School in early May.
