Former Belleview basketball coach Mike Hoffman hired at Forest

A new era is starting on the court at Forest High School after the resignation of long-time head basketball coach Spencer Ashley, and a familiar face in the county has been brought on to lead that transition.

Former Belleview Rattlers’ head coach Mike Hoffman has been named head basketball coach for the Wildcats.

According to MaxPreps, Hoffman finished with a record 49-72 during his five-year stint with the Rattlers, but don’t let that record fool you into thinking he didn’t have success there.

As a first-time varsity coach when he took the Belleview job, Hoffman set out to transform a basketball program that had seen very little success in the decade previous.

In the 10 years before Hoffman was hired, the Rattlers had gone a combined 38-176 (11-101 in the previous five years). Hoffman got to work, and by his fourth year, delivered Belleview’s first winning season (15-11) in 18 years. 

He followed it up with a 16-7 record this past year, making it the program’s first back-to-back winning seasons since 01-02.

“It was a restart, a rejuvenation of the program. Getting kids to be bought back into tradition, family, culture. All the things I strongly believe in,” said Hoffman.

“The most important thing is just getting kids bought into you. No matter what situation you’re at, no matter how good or bad you are. If you can get kids bought into you, you can do a lot of things.”

Now, after spending five years building a winning program, Hoffman will be coming into one well-established at Forest. 

The Wildcats went 73-34 during coach Ashley’s tenure and are coming off of an 18-8 season and a Class 6A State Final Four appearance.

“Coach Ashley put [the program] in a great spot. I can’t say enough of what he did at Forest and everything he’s built during his time there. He’s left me way ahead of the 8-ball. I’m going into a sweet spot with all the work he put into the locker room, culture, fundraising, everything that he did,” Hoffman said.

“So right now, it’s continuing that. Trying to get these kids bought into someone new and continuing the success they had.”

Despite that success, however, coaching isn’t the only change at Forest.

Starters Brenan Lorient, the 6-foot-8 leading scorer and Ocala Star-Banner Player of the Year, transferred to Calvary Christian, swingman Josh Cuspard graduated, and 6-foot-8 Elijah Russell is facing a potential conflict with football.

Still, Hoffman expects his team to continue its winning ways no matter who suits up come basketball season.

“There is a foundation that coach Ashley built and a foundation to continue upon. And Forest expects great things and I don’t have any different expectations. Our expectations, every single year, no matter who we have, is to win a district championship, and that’s the bottom floor for us,” Hoffman said.

“I’ll do anything possible to make sure the tradition continues at Forest and the success continues.”