John Karsten
John Karsten
  • Team:
    Basketball

Bio

John Karsten truly had a Hall of Fame career not just at American River College but in life as well.  John graduated from Santa Cruz High School in 1953 as a multi-sport athlete.  He was the starting forward on the basketball team and earned a varsity letter in track & field competing in the hurdles and the high jump.  After high school he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps where he served three years, including one year in Korea. 

When John returned from his stint in the military, he enrolled at Monterey Peninsula College where he played basketball for two years.  He then moved on to Sacramento State where continued his basketball career for two more years.  After graduating, he stayed on with the Hornets to coach the freshman team while earning his Master’s Degree.

John spent several years coaching at the junior high and high school levels.  He was the first head coach at Foothill High School when it opened in 1965.  After a year away from coaching, John joined the ARC Physical Education staff in 1970 as a professor and an assistant basketball coach for ARC Hall of Fame Coach Woody Hutchison.  Over his seven-year head coaching career he amassed a record of 133-70 and won three Valley Conference championships.  During that time, he earned a second Master’s Degree, this one in counseling; thus, beginning a new chapter in his career, full-time counselor at ARC from 1984 until his retirement in 1998.

John also ran the Sacramento Basketball Coaching Clinics from 1975 until 2000 and took several teams to play overseas in China and Taiwan.  In addition to his induction to the ARC Hall of Fame John has been inducted into the LaSalle Club Coaches Hall of Fame (2007), the California Community College Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame (2011), the Sacramento State Hall of Fame (2012), the Foothill High School Hall of Fame (2015) and the Monterey Peninsula College Hall of Fame (2019).  In 1979 he was honored with the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce Coach of the Year Award. 

John was married to his wife Vicki for 62 years.  They have a son, Gary and a daughter, Julie and five grandchildren as well.  John passed away on November 24th, 2024.