Dan Bergeron is the new Live Oak High boys basketball coach, succeeding Jeff Yeung, who stepped down from the position after the recently completed 2017-2018 season. The 31-year-old Bergeron spent the last four years coaching Fremont High-Sunnyvale, the last two as the varsity head coach.
With his family’s impending move to Morgan Hill, Bergeron couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity.
“When the Live Oak job came up, it was a great way to get involved in the community,” said Bergeron, who is the executive director and head of fundraising efforts for the Las Lomitos Education Foundation in Menlo Park. “I have a bunch of ideas in my head for the Live Oak boys basketball program, and it’s good to have high expectations. I know we have a good, young core (nucleus of players) coming back, and that’s exciting.”
Bergeron met with the returning players for the first time on April 11, relaying the expectations he has for each player. Bergeron, who played at Fremont-Sunnyvale and Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, vividly remembers when Live Oak was a perennial A-league team and occasional Central Coast Section power.
“When I played, Live Oak was one of the teams to beat,” he said. “The early goal for us is to get back in the A league and be competitive for a league championship. Long term—and I want to be here for a long time—I want this to be a place that if you live in the South County and want a good education and be a good basketball player, Live Oak is the place where you’ll end up—and hopefully not at one of those other schools up north.”
Bergeron will get a chance to see his players in action during the upcoming open gym workouts and summer league games.
“They’ll get an understanding of how I’m like so they can deal with me, and I get to see how the guys respond in different situations,” he said. “The summer is going to be an exciting part of our growth. Any time a new coach comes on, you want to get things going in the right way.”
One thing Bergeron won’t accept is a lack of effort. He emphasized to the players that he was never the most talented player; however, he always gave his maximum effort in practice and games, putting himself in the best position to succeed.
Bergeron has a wife, Stephanie, and they have two kids: Lucas, who is 3 ½, and Tyler, who is 9 months old.
