When Geoff Harner crossed the McCallum graduation stage in 2002, he didn’t expect that he would still be making an impact on the McCallum community 23 years later. However, for members of the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams, Harner’s training and advice have allowed them to grow both as individuals and as players.
During his time at McCallum, Harner was involved in a variety of activities and extracurriculars. He was in the fine arts program as part of the band; he was a member of the marching band, symphonic band and honor band. He assisted with the literature and art magazine, Excalibur; he was in the National Honor Society and was a member of the boys’ basketball team. Harner was able to balance all of these activities and credits his teachers and coaches for pushing him to be successful in these different areas of life.
“I wanted to do better at band, but it’s hard to have so many extra activities and balance all of that,” Harner said. “Ms. Nelson was a great teacher, and really taught discipline there, and that’s part of the reason why I’ve had a lot of success, is because of the Fine Arts Academy and because of people like Coach Fuentes and Coach Caldwell, who made it a good basketball school.”
After playing in college and graduating from Concordia University Texas, Harner wasn’t done with basketball. He began playing in semi-pro leagues in San Antonio, and in 2008, he got the opportunity to play in Kosovo, a country in Southeastern Europe. After that, he returned to the U.S., where he continued to play in semi-pro leagues. He has spent the past two decades traveling the world and playing basketball overseas in China, Mexico, Lithuania, Spain and the Dominican Republic.
“I’ve had a long 19-year career, off and on, a lot of ups and downs, but a lot of adversity, learned, and I have no regrets, and I’m very proud of what I’ve done,” Harner said. “I want to help others get there. And so that’s why I love coaching kids and coaching adults, and just believing that the real wealth is your health, and keeping that as my passion and purpose.”
After playing all over the world, Harner realized that he could make an impact on the Austin community through his training and fitness coaching. He began training athletes in both basketball and general personal training in 2015. He believes that progress can be built up slowly. When training players, he focuses on how much they can improve each session.
“People just want to move,” Harner said. “At the end of the day, training is not just ‘let me just make the best basketball player,’ it’s ‘how can I make this person a better form of who they are from yesterday to today? How can I increase that percentage in a positive way?’ Even if it’s incremental, even if it’s just a smile on their face. That’s really the biggest reward in it all.”
Junior Jack Wood has been working with Harner once a week since the seventh grade. He credits Harner for helping to improve his playing and confidence on the court.
“He and I know each other pretty well and he’s a mentor to me,” Wood said. “He’s unique in the sense that he doesn’t fit the stereotypical coach that will make you run if you mess up and that really helps me build confidence. I credit him with the improvements in my game and especially my confidence. I really enjoy basketball when I’m with him and that’s the most important part of it all.”
Harner works with people of all ages and backgrounds all over the Austin community. He explained that building a strong community is very important to him, and by building one around basketball, Harner’s impact reaches far beyond the court.
“Community is going to keep this country together,” Harner said. “I mean, it starts from the micro level to the macro. But if your micro isn’t good, then the macro won’t be great. If we don’t follow along with our true human values, ethics and morale, there won’t be community.”
Junior Victor Saenz trains with Harner up to two times a week and has been doing so since the end of his freshman year. Saenz explained that training with Harner has helped him on and off the court.
“He taught me the importance of discipline and effort, and what that can do for you if you apply it to basketball and life,” Saenz said.
In 2014, Harner started an AAU team for freshmen at McCallum. In 2019, the team transitioned to helping college or professional-level players keep their professional careers going with stats, film and international exposure.
“The Austin Greeners is my basketball organization that helps players after their college career get opportunities in overseas basketball,” Harner said. “We were a part of the Universal Basketball Association (UBA) minor league since 2019. Besides basketball, The Greeners represent the environment of our city. Clean energy, minimize pollution, keep neighborhoods clean and safe. We’ve done some community cleanups in the past.”
Harner stated that his training and playing have influenced him, making him better in both aspects of his life.
“Being a player helps me as a trainer, and being a trainer helps me as a player, because I see the game on a higher level, a more mature level, after teaching it and seeing kids develop,” he said.
Harner’s love of basketball comes from the lessons one can learn from the sport and how players are able to find out more about themselves through basketball.
“It’s almost a full representation of who you are in that you find the leader in basketball, you find whether or not you are not a leader,” Harner said. “It helps define who you are and how tough you can work to get through something. I love it because I have so many responsibilities in life that I can take that one hour, maybe two hours, of my day, and I can just bounce the ball and shoot and just enjoy the game, to me, that’s a derivative of heaven.”