Reaching 200 wins as a varsity high school coach is a pretty significant milestone. For Notre Dame Prep’s Pat Battani, getting 200 wins is a big deal, to be sure, but that record and many others he has earned over a long career as a basketball coach pale when compared to what’s really important to him and to his boss, Notre Dame Athletic Director Betty Wroubel.
“Pat did more than coach, he taught the game as well as how to love the game,” Wroubel said. “He always put the players first over wins and losses, and he wanted the kids to always be good sports and good people on and off the court.”
After nine years at the helm of Notre Dame’s girls basketball program and a total of 40 years coaching both boys and girls, Coach Battani has decide to retire from coaching.
He finished up a 2015-16 campaign that saw the Irish share the league championship in the AA division and Battani earn his 200th career varsity victory. Over his nine seasons as coach, Notre Dame teams earned five Catholic League divisional titles (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016) along with two district titles (2009, 2011), and he was named this season as the division’s coach of the year, the fifth time he's been so honored by the CHSL. His overall record with Notre Dame is 107-86.
"While I am proud of the titles we won and the coach of the year awards," Battani said, "obviously, the thing that stays with us as coaches the longest is all the great kids that we were able to work with through the years and the helpful and supportive parents that we came in contact with on a regular basis."
‘Blessed to have him’
“Coaching is a big part of his DNA,” added Wroubel. “I have to say that I have never seen a guy work so hard to put together a great game plan game in and game out. The man NEVER stops scouting, analyzing, coaching, guiding and mentoring. We have been blessed to have him on board and we will miss him! His multiple coach of the year honors and division titles speak volumes as to his ability to coach. We in the Notre Dame community are so grateful for all that Pat has done to progress our program.”
When Battani first became coach at Notre Dame, he was taking over a girls program that went 8-50 the previous season, including the freshman, JV and varsity teams. “I knew it was a big challenge, but big challenges are what I love doing,” he said. “At NDP, we went to Calihan Hall that very first year and came within one missed layup of winning the Catholic championship.”
Along with his coaching duties, Battani teaches at Notre Dame. He runs the school’s lower division physical education program that sees him taking very young and rambunctious junior-kindergarten to fifth-grade students and giving them a well-rounded weekly routine of fitness activities that sometimes rivals sophisticated high-school and college programs.
Battani spent more than 30 of his teaching years as an English teacher in the Detroit school system and he’s probably earned a quieter, less-stressful path to retirement from education. “But I really like teaching at ND Marist because the little kids are so enthusiastic,” he said.
From the hardwood to Hollywood
Many in the school and league community who only know Battani as the intense and studious coach who paces vigorously back and forth during Irish basketball games would be surprised to know of his rather interesting “side job” as a motion picture extra.
Battani, who has worked as an extra in many films, once received communion 14 times during the filming of a scene with actor Robert De Niro.
For a number of years, Battani has been fortunate enough to get lots of work as an extra on Hollywood-type film sets. Between spending a month as a stand-in for noted actor and playwright Wallace Shawn and literally standing next to Robert De Niro for take after take where he had to receive communion 14 times, Battani has had the pleasure of working on numerous other films with many of Hollywood’s elites.
He’s worked with Pacino in the Kevorkian biopic “You Don’t Know Jack,” De Niro in “Stone,” and counts Edward Norton, Milla Jovovich, Christopher Walken, Val Kilmer, Paul Sorvino, Benecio Del Toro and Sigourney Weaver as fellow actors on recent films. In addition, Battani, who got into the business by simply answering a casting call, was an extra in the Detroit-filmed AMC drama series “Low Winter Sun” and has most recently worked on the film, “Into the Storm,” in which actor Richard Armitage has a lead role.
Program in good shape
Battani said it’s always hard to leave a coaching job, especially one at a school with such a rich legacy. But he thinks the girls basketball program will be in good shape.
“With all of the good young players on the varsity and JV rosters, the future is brighter than ever,” Battani said. “I believe that we have more good young talent on the roster now than ever before, and with all of them playing together on varsity next season, it should be a banner year.”
Wroubel agrees.
“It has been so great for Notre Dame to have someone like Pat share his time and talents with our community,” she said. “Our basketball program has greatly benefitted from his hard work and obviously his expertise. I am certainly elated that he got his 200 win as part of our program. His legacy will live on and the good that he has done will benefit many, many future players here at Notre Dame.”
Coach Battani’s career summary
– 40 total years of coaching boys and girls basketball
– 21 years middle school at Winship MS and St. Raymond. (four years with boys, 17 years with girls)
– Three years coaching high school freshman and JV at Bishop Borgess
– 16 years high school varsity at Ann Arbor Huron (4), Andover (3) and NDP (9)
– Record at Notre Dame: 107-86
– Overall varsity record as head coach: 202-139
– Won 20 league titles, and five district championships
– Catholic League coach of the year five times
– Detroit Public School middle school league coach of the year 14 times
– Two AAU national final fours
– Two AAU National Invitational championships
– Coached over 200 future college players, nine All-Americans, two NBA players and five WNBA players
– Coached Team Michigan in the AAU Junior Olympics
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." The Marist Fathers and Brothers sponsor NDPMA's Catholic identity and manages its educational program. Notre Dame is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.