Many students have trouble choosing what they want to do after high school. The pressures of society, family upbringing, and the challenges that life can throw at you often lead to indecision. 

Even so, most graduates of Franklin High School manage to carve out a space for themselves in this world—and some have even found their way to fame. 

FHS Alumnus Michael Plank, now an assistant coach at the University of San Francisco, is one such graduate. 

Plank was back in his home town Feb. 28 to coach a game against University of the Pacific. While he was in Stockton, The Buzz asked him to tell us a little bit about himself and give some insight into his journey to his fellow Yellow Jackets. 

One thing is certain: Michael Plank knew what he wanted from the get-go, and has the story to prove it.

Plank graduated from FHS in 2003. While in high school, he took classes in the International Baccalaureate program at FHS. He said it was challenging to get through that rigorous coursework, but he felt it prepared him well for his future. “You make it at Franklin, you’re not gonna be scared of anything, you know?” Plank said. 

High school can be daunting for kids, Plank recounted,  recalling the doubts he had about being at FHS and his overall view on those experiences. “I liked it all. I mean, everything that wasn’t good was for something, and everything that was good was for something, so, you know, it was all great for maturity and growing in its own way…”

Plank acknowledged that FHS was just as diverse as it is today back when he attended, but that it was also more “segregated” in his time, making it difficult to befriend and understand the lives of a vast majority of his peers. 

“Blacks stay[ed] with the blacks, Mexicans with the Mexicans, Asians with the Asians, and… I didn’t love that, because I had friends from all the different races,” Plank said. He explained that his experiences at FHS taught him about life and “interacting with different people from different cultures and respect and how those things are really important.”

Attending FHS was a “very transformative experience,” Coach Plank said. “It forces you to get over your fears a bit and mature.” 

Sports was Plank’s passion from the start. He started playing basketball in third grade, and never stopped. Plank said he tried basketball, football, baseball and even track. Plank said one of his proudest achievements in basketball was being a three year varsity starter and being featured in the local newspaper. “And I remember my mom saw it, and I was really proud of that,” Plank said.

Plank’s family was supportive through it all. 

“For my brothers and sisters, and my moms, dad, who poured their time and energy into me, I wanted to, you know, kind of set an example, a positive example,” Plank said.

There were many people that Plank said played an important role in his life, especially from FHS. “Coach Franco was… a mentor, father figure,” Plank said,  “[He was] one of the first people to truly believe in me and put confidence in me.” 

Plank said that all of the teachers “looked out” for him, but some that really stood out were Mr. Toliver—who became the principal for Stagg but was a basketball coach and teacher at FHS when Plank was in school— Ms. Hague, and Ms. Penn, who Plank said “is like my godmother now.”

Once he graduated, Plank went straight to Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. The experience left a big impression. “It’s Willamette, dammit! That’s how you remember it,” Plank said. He went on to call it the opposite of Franklin, in that it was an affluent community, but he still felt that it was “another transformative experiment and experience.” He was recruited to play football there, but played basketball and baseball at Willamette as well.

Plank got his sociology degree from Willamette, and a master’s in educational leadership from Concordia University in Portland. “I ended up getting that because it was the most applicable to things I wanted to learn and talk about and classes I wanted to take. I struggled in college when the subject matter was boring, and I didn’t find it appealing,” Plank said. “It was really hard there to get through those classes for me. So sociology always kinda hit home; just talking about people, institutions and how they coexist.”

Plank has considered changes in his career. To Coach Plank, coaching is a “rather volatile profession,” so he said he’s considered other careers like working in education and program development. “As long as I love it and it wakes me up every day. When it’s not fun anymore, I’ll probably go do something else.”

Plank’s advice to students at FHS is to reach outside of their comfort zones and really focus on creating bonds with others while in high school. He said he enjoyed making those connections with his peers, and that after spending time with them he realized, “man, I’ve been missing out. This person’s really cool, or really nice, or really smart…” 

Plank encouraged students to talk to people and make an effort to check in on those friendships, stating that when he runs into old classmates on his visits to Stockton he sometimes wishes he’d “poured more into those relationships.”

Though, of course, Plank didn’t return to Stockton just to reminisce; he left Stockton as a student and athlete, and returned as a successful and well-known college coach. On Saturday, February 28th, he led USF to beat the PAC Tigers 72 – 61 at UOP, an achievement not unlike that varsity game he played against Bear Creek years ago that landed him in the local paper.  

For Plank, however, the goal isn’t to win games. Instead, it’s about the people. He said one reason he granted an interview to The Buzz was to hopefully inspire current FHS students to see themselves in his success. “I was able to get out of Stockton,” Plank said. “I wanted to show folks from Franklin and Stockton that it is possible.”