John Verhelst begins his first season as the Madison Area Technical College head men’s basketball coach. Verhelst, a 2001 Wisconsin Coaches Hall of Fame inductee, is back to coaching a sport he loves and a sport he has had tremendous success in.
In 1996, Verhelst retired from the high school basketball coaching, after 18 years at Monona Grove High School and 26 years of coaching basketball in Wisconsin. While at Monona Grove his teams earned a reputation throughout the state for their discipline, sound basketball fundamentals, and stifling defense. These team qualities brought impressive results. Under Verhelst, Monona Grove teams claimed the Badger Conference championship six times, the WIAA Regional championship nine times, and were the 1990 WIAA Division II Runners-up. Coach Verhelst’s overall record at Monona Grove High School was 276-126 with an impressive 165-48 record over the last nine years.
Verhelst was a nine-time letterwinner in football, basketball, and track & field at Madison Edgewood High School. After high school, Verhelst played two years of football for the University of Wisconsin.
Verhelst was born on January 2, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois. In 1971, he received his B.S. degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison in History and Physical Education. In addition to coaching men’s basketball at MATC, Verhelst is currently the Head Track & Field Coach (33 years) and Physical Education teacher at Monona Grove High School. His wife’s name is Suzy and his sons are Rob and Jason.
