Now that Glen Lake has a new varsity boys' basketball coach, it won't take long for him to get up to speed.

That’s because Todd Hazelton, whose hiring was approved by the Glen Lake Board of Education last month, spent the last three years as coach for the Glen Lake boys’ eighth grade team and helped former varsity head coach Keith Shimek last season.

“For me, this is a dream come true,” said the 1988 Glen Lake graduate. He was a freshman and his brother Ross was a senior on the 1985-86 squad that advanced to the Class D state semifinals.

Hazelton is taking over a team and program that needs rebuilding. The Lakers went 7-14 overall last season and 3-7 in the Northwest Conference. But he has a solid core of returning players, including junior Andrew White and senior Ryan Dyksterhouse, to help inspire younger players.

“I think it’s going to be a challenge to change the culture of the whole program, to get kids to enjoy basketball,” Hazelton said. “It has to start with the older students. They have to show they have fun and enjoy the game. The younger kids see that joy, that fun, and that makes them want to play. That’s how I learned, that’s how I got my love of the game, was from watching and working with the older students,” Hazelton said.

After graduating from Glen Lake, Hazelton attended Albion College for two years, playing one year for the Scots basketball team. He left the school and came back to the area, working at different jobs.

“I worked at Cherry Republic for a while and worked different jobs since then,” Hazelton said. He got back into coaching, including a stint as head coach for the Leelanau School, from 1999-2003.

He sells advertisements for the AT&T Yellow Pages, is happily married and has two children. Hazelton said he has stayed close with his Laker teammates and coaches and will be relying on their help and expertise as he works to re-establish the Laker basketball program.

“The best thing about being here is I have a lot of built-in support. Anytime I need advice, I have (former coach Don) Miller to talk with. I have Mr. (Paul) Christianson, the athletic director, there, too,” Hazelton said.

Growing up in the Glen Lake system, Hazelton said he does not plan to make radical changes to offensive or defensive schemes.

“I plan on keeping things simple. Simple is the best. When kids see a successful program, they buy into it. That is what I know we can achieve here,” he said.