Steffensmeier to lead HTC girls hoops program

FORT MADISON - Dave Steffensmeier knows there’s plenty of athletic talent at Holy Trinity High School.
Getting the players to come out for his first season as the girls basketball coach is one of his first goals.
Steffensmeier, a former head boys basketball coach for the Crusaders, was officially hired on Monday night by the Holy Trinity Catholic School Board, but he has been working this summer in recruiting players to join his team.
“We’re talking to a lot of the younger players,” Steffensmeier said. “They’ll say, ‘I’m not good at basketball.’ And I’ll say, ‘You’re an athlete. We can use you.’”
Steffensmeier’s 18-year coaching career included time as an assistant coach and then head coach at Holy Trinity, three seasons as the head girls coach at the former Marquette High School, and a year as a college basketball assistant at the former Iowa Wesleyan College.
“I think I’ve gotten smarter since the last time I coached varsity basketball,” he said. “At least I’m telling myself I’ve gotten smarter.
Steffensmeier stepped away from coaching in 2016 following the death of his wife, but has spent time in the last few seasons coaching at the junior high level, including time at St. Peter and Paul School in Nauvoo, Illinois, where one of his former players was Cooper Knowles, who went on to be an all-state player at West Hancock and will play NCAA Division I basketball at Belmont University this season.
“I’d like to say it was all because of me,” Steffensmeier said, laughing.
Holy Trinity’s girls team is coming off a 5-16 season in which there were only nine players on the roster. That followed a 15-8 season in 2024-25 and a 20-3 season in 2023-24.
“We have to make it fun for the girls,” Steffensmeier said. “We know we have athletes — volleyball has shown that.

“I just felt like we’ve got some potential with this team, and I figured maybe I could help.”
Steffensmeier will have Melissa Freesmeier, Holy Trinity’s volleyball coach, on his staff as an assistant coach. They have been running open gyms this summer twice a week, combining volleyball and basketball.
“We’ve been strategically doing it immediately before or immediately after volleyball open gyms, so we’re not making them come in four days a week,” Steffensmeier said. “We want to make sure the girls understand it’s not a competition between volleyball and basketball. It’s a collaboration. We can both accomplish good things.”
The open gyms have included players at the seventh-grade and eighth-grade level, to help spark interest in the program.
“The girls coming to the open gyms are excited, and I’m hoping they’re having some fun,” Steffensmeier said. “There’s just so much to do.”
Steffensmeier said he has four games planned for the summer, including two this weekend at Mount Pleasant.
“We’re slowly starting to put in some things,” he said. “But this summer is basically about individual improvement.”
Steffensmeier expects a challenge in his first season.
“You know volleyball will have a great season and go to the state tournament again,” he said. “And then I’ll have a few practices with our team before the season starts. ‘Grow’ is going to be the key word. Maybe we don’t come out of the gates flying, but we’ll get better as the season goes on.
“I’m really excited for this opportunity.”