TAVERNIER -- For more than a decade, Rob Stroup has been involved in youth basketball in the Upper Keys.

When the Coral Shores High boys basketball team opens play tonight in the District 16-3A tournament, the Hurricanes coach will look to extend that run at least one game longer.

Stroup, who ran and organized youth basketball for about nine years before volunteering his time to the Coral Shores girls and boys programs three years ago, will step down at the end of the season, his first officially as head coach. Whenever that final game occurs, however, Stroup said he has made plenty of memories along the way.

Stroup, 50, initially moved to the Keys with his wife, Gina, and two children 13 years ago from Denver after having taken several vacations to the area.

"Same thing as everybody else -- fishing, boating and the water," Stroup said of his motives behind the cross-country move. "We used to come down all the time and go fishing and scuba diving. On a whim, we decided to move down here and we never could find a way to leave."

At the time, Stroup was the owner of a nationwide parking business and volunteered his time to help run the youth leagues, in which both his son, Zack, and daughter, Sydney, competed. When Sydney, now in college, joined the girls team at Coral Shores, Stroup began volunteering at the high school, helping while current head coach Dan Smith recovered from a hip operation. Three years ago when Zack, currently a senior, began playing with the boys team, Stroup moved on to help that team. He said the transitions were mostly smooth.

"I've been involved in sports and coaching my whole life, so it wasn't really a big deal," he said. "It was a little more challenging. I have to get the boys a little more prepared. The girls listen a lot more and do what you ask. The boys don't listen as well, but they play their heart out."

Helping ease that transition was Stroup's familiarity with his players, many of whom he had coached in the youth leagues.

"They're the bulk of the same kids," Stroup said. "I've coached a lot of these boys since they were 5-6 years old, when they still had girls on the team."

This season hasn't exactly gone as planned for the Hurricanes. The team lost 7-footer and Division I prospect Kyle Sikora mid-season when Sikora, who was an all-county pick after averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds a season ago, transferred to Florida Christian. With their most prominent player gone, the Hurricanes struggled to a 5-15 record during the regular season.

"Our varsity squad would've looked a lot different with him in the lineup," Stroup said. "The dynamics of our team really changed with him transferring out."

When Stroup steps down after the season, Pat Meyers will retake control of the team. Before that moment comes, however, Stroup said he would love to see his team, which consists entirely of seniors, achieve at least one postseason victory. That first chance will come tonight when the Hurricanes open the district tournament against St. Brendan at Archbishop Carroll. Coral Shores went 0-2 against the Sabres during the regular season, losing by 12 at home and 21 on the road.

"We've got an opportunity to beat them if we play solid and everybody brings their best game forward," Stroup said. "It's big for everybody. They're all seniors, and it's a big opportunity for them and something they can remember for the rest of their lives."

When the Hurricanes do wrap up the season and Zack heads up to college in Denver, Stroup said he will look forward to spending more time seeing the world with his wife.

"We'll be empty-nesters so we'll be travelling a lot more," he said. "We probably won't be here as often as we have been, but we'll still be involved. I'll come over and harass Pat Meyers when I get an opportunity and put the kids through some drills."

More than anything, the coach said he appreciates the opportunities that Coral Shores and Athletic Director Rich Russell gave him over the past few years.

"To come up from the youth leagues and get an opportunity to coach on the varsity level is a chance that you probably don't get at a lot of other schools," Stroup said. "I tell Rich Russell all the time whenever he says thanks for helping out, I tell him, 'No, thank you.' It's been truly an unbelievable opportunity for me to not only be involved with my children, but with all these kids that I've been able to coach for the last 10-11 years. It's been truly a treat."

Stroup said that Russell has tried to get him to stay.

"Rich said he would triple my salary if I'd stick around and help out, but I'm thinking zero times three is still zero," Stroup said with a laugh. "I think it's time to move on."

wjacobson@keysnews.com