Coaches
Russ Critchfield
Head Basketball Coach
Coach Russ Critchfield enters his 12th season at the helm of the 2009-2010 Butte College Roadrunners with high hopes for another outstanding season. Last year’s squad had a great season winning the Golden Valley Conference Championship, participating in the California Community College Tournament, and finishing with an overall 22-9 record. The “Roadrunners” will be trying to stay atop the Golden Valley Conference and return to “post-season play”! Coach Critchfield, while during his tenure at Butte College, has sent more than 27 players onto the four year level, and has an overall career coaching record of 280-224. He has a wealth of coaching experience at the university level where he served 18 years as a Division 1 assistant coach. These coaching stints included stops at San Diego State University, University of California at Berkeley, Saint Mary’s College, and the University of Washington. As an assistant college coach he had the good fortune to help recruit and or coach 6 NBA players and over 25 players who were drafted by the NBA! As a head high school coach his teams recorded an overall 148-82 mark, winning one championship, and playing in the post-season several times.
As a former player, Coach Critchfield earned All-American honors at the University of California at Berkeley in 1968, played for the ABA Champion Oakland Oaks in 1969, was elected to the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995, and inducted into the Pac-10 Basketball Hall of Honor in 2007. Educationally he earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree at the University of California, Berkeley and his Master of Arts Degree in Physical Education at Saint Mary’s College. He makes his home in Chico with his lovely wife Susan. Their family includes, Kyle Critchfield of Pasadena, Cathy Bull of San Francisco, Jim and Susanne Bull of South Lake Tahoe and grandchildren Spencer (9), Josh (7), and Kaylee (5).
Josh Holbrook
Assistant Basketball Coach
Coach Holbrook enters his third season as an Assistant Men's Basketball Coach at Butte College. Born and raised in Oroville, Coach Holbrook graduated from Las Plumas High School in 1996. An outstanding shooter, he played four years in high school followed by two seasons at Butte College where he played for Coach Critchfield during the 1999 season. Coach Holbrook started his coaching career in 2001 as an assistant JV Coach at Oroville High School. Following his coaching stint at Oroville High School he successfully coached the 7th and 8th grade boy's teams at Marsh Junior High School in Chico from 2002 through 2007. In 2007, while coaching at Marsh Junior High School he also coached the Las Plumas High School Freshman Boys to an outstanding 19-6 record. During the springs and summers Coach Holbrook has continued to have success coaching local AAU basketball teams. He has coached the very successful Chico Golden Bears the past few seasons. Many of his players have played successfully for local high school programs. Coach Holbrook is an outstanding young coach who brings energy, passion and a strong basketball background to the Roadrunner staff and program.
Coach Holbrook transferred to Chico State University from Butte College in 2004. Presently, after a brief hiatus from his education, he plans to resume classes there in the spring of 2010 looking to earn his degree in Social Science. His immediate family resides in Oroville and includes his mother Dawn, father Kip, and three brothers and three sisters.
Jeff Paull MA CSCS
Strength & Conditioning Coach
Jeff Paull MA, CSCS, serves as the Strength & Conditioning Coach for Butte College Football, Baseball and Basketball. Having been involved in weight training for over 30 years and a professional fitness trainer and strength coach for over 20 years, Jeff (J.P.) brings a lifetime of weight training experience and education to the table.
J.P. earned Bachelors degrees in PE and Exercise Science as well as a Masters degree in Exercise Physiology and Biomechanics from Chico State University. He has also earned professional certifications from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) among many others. J.P. has conducted research and published several articles on fitness, nutrition and athletic performance. Currently he teaches several courses in the Department of Kinesiology at Chico State University and owns The Body Shop Gym in Chico.
During his career J.P. has successfully trained several High School, College, World Class and Professional athletes including Tom Brady (2 time Super Bowl MVP), Darren Lewis & Royce Clayton (SF Giants), Sue Porter (Olympic Medalist and World Champion swimmer), he has worked out several times with Jerry Rice and Tom Rathman (SF 49ers) and served as the strength and conditioning coach for Chico State Baseball, Softball, Soccer and Basketball from 2001-2006.
Jeff himself is an accomplished athlete and credits strength training as the backbone of his success. He was a track & field standout at Butte College, Semi-Professional football player for the Redwood City Flying Tigers, and has won several state, regional and national titles in power-lifting & bodybuilding. Most recently J.P. won the 2007 WABDL national dead-lifting title and 2008 Mr. Chico bodybuilding title. In November 2008 he will be competing for a world title in the dead-lift.
