Trent Skinner

After a three years of being away from Mt. San Jacinto College, Trent Skinner returns to the sidelines this upcoming season and reunites with Patrick Springer and the Eagles program. The long time assistant at Mt. San Jacinto spent the last three seasons as head coach at College of the Desert. Skinner led the Roadrunners to a 30-26 record and Desert made a two game improvement in his second year on the sideline. “It was a great and I learned so much and gained a lot of experience,” answered Skinner when asked about the experience at College of the Desert. Skinner was a former player for the Roadrunners and being able to come back and be a head coach was a highlight for the Eagles assistant coach. While at Desert, he got a taste of running his own program and instilling his culture. “The biggest change was the everyday responsibility of all of your athletes,” answered Skinner when asked about the change from assistant coach to head coach. It just doesn’t go off the court, the responsibility is on court as well, when the head coach has to deal with time outs, playing out and other aspects of the game. Skinner proved he was worthy of the challenge as the Roadrunners went from winning no games the season before he arrived, to picking up 14 victories in his first season on the sidelines.

As for being back with Mt. San Jacinto, the former Desert head coach is happy to be back. Coaches and players from around the state are happy to be back in general with basketball after having to sit out last season. Covid 19 took away a season from most teams in California and to be back in the gym is a blessing of its own. “I am happy being back in the gym after 492 days since our last work out,” said Skinner. The competition and the every day grind was something missed all around the state. Now that most teams are back and the season is less than two months away, the expectations haven’t changed at one of the usual powerhouse Southern California junior colleges. “We are ready to compete for a conference championship and have a chance to play well at the end of the year,” said Skinner when asked about expectations. Time will tell on how the upcoming season will end, but Skinner is back on the sidelines at a familiar place and looking forward to a successful 2021-2022 campaign.