In his first season as the head coach of boys basketball at The Rock, Justin Harden guided the Lions to the program's 5th District Championship, a runner-up finish at the historic Kreul Classic in Coral Springs, FL, a sweet sixteen appearance in the state playoffs, and a final record of 22-7. Harden was also named 1A Coach of the Year in North Central Florida by the Florida Athletic Coaches Association.

Amidst the many team accomplishments, Harden was fortunate to have 4 of his players receive athletic scholarships to play collegiate basketball. Among those were standout guards Scottie Wilbekin (University of Florida) and Dennis Mavin (Florida Atlantic). Forwards Rey Velez (Inter American University - Puerto Rico) and Ayotunde Oyeniyi (Fairleigh Dickinson) will also play at the next level. With four more student-athletes going to college, Harden has now coached over 15 players who have gone on to play collegiate basketball.

Svend Wilbekin stepped down as the head coach of The Rock School's boys basketball program at the conclusion of the 2008-2009 season. On April 1, 2009, Justin Harden assumed the head coaching duties of a program that has won three district championships (2006, 2007, 2009) and two regional championships (2007, 2009), and made two Final Four appearances (2007, 2009) including a state-runner finish in the last four years.

Harden spent four years as an assistant under Coach Wilbekin. In his first year, the program experienced its most successful season in school history behind the leadership of senior Moussa Camara and junior Vytas Sulskis who led the Lions to the program’s second district championship (2001) and the program’s first regional finals appearance before falling to Laurel Hill.

In his second season as an assistant, The team's winning ways continued as the Lions captured both the district and regional championships and reached the state finals for the first time in school history. The team was led by seniors Vytas Sulskis and Bartas Visinskis, juniors Anton Tuz and Borgia M’Bala, sophomore Josh Snodgrass, and 8th grader Scottie Wilbekin.

In addition to his role as an assistant for the boys team in 2006-2007, Harden was also the head coach for the girls program. Led by junior Saule Kontautaite, the Lady Lions basketball team won the district title, defeating Potter’s House in a thrilling victory to give the program its first-ever championship. The Lady Lions won their first state playoff game before losing to eventual state runner-up Malone in the regional semi-finals.

In 2007-2008, Harden continued to serve as the lead assistant on the boy's staff and as the head coach of the girls program. Both programs experienced successful seasons and helped several players move on to play basketball at the collegiate level (Tuz, M’Bala, and Kontautaite).

After the 2007-2008 season, Harden stepped down as the Lady Lions' head coach to focus on his role within the boys program. Coach Wilbekin wanted to groom Harden for the head coaching position that he would transition into at the end of the following season.

As an assistant in 2008-2009, Harden's preparations helped The Rock to win another district title, capture a second regional championship, and advance to the Final Four in Lakeland behind the play of seniors Vlad Kondratyev and Patrick Konan and first-team all-state sophomore Scottie Wilbekin.

The 2010-2011 season proved to be an unexpected learning experience for Coach Harden. When Scottie Wilbekin graduated early to attend the University of Florida, it left him with no returning seniors and roster full of new players and young returning ones. As result, the Lions suffered through a tumultuous first half of the season going 8-8 before ending the season with an overall record of 22-15. The Lions return 6 of the top 7 players from last years team and add 3 new players to team that had 3 sophomores and 1 freshman start the majority of their games last year.

Harden has conducted individual skills workouts for current and former players and has also served as the strength and conditioning coordinator for two years. Harden believes that building functional physical strength is the key to building players who can play hard and withstand the physical nature of basketball.

Harden (born January 3, 1980) grew up in Tucson, AZ, where he attended University/Rincon High School and played basketball, football, and baseball. Amidst various offers, Harden decided to accept a scholarship to play baseball at Howard University (Washington, DC). He eventually transferred to the University of North Carolina where he graduated with his degree in Exercise and Sports Science (2002). He then earned his Masters of Science in Exercise and Sport Sciences with an emphasis in physical education at the University of Florida (2005) before spending one year as a faculty member in the health and physical education department.

In 2006, Harden was hired as the athletic director for The Rock School where he has taught classes in leadership, anatomy and physiology, physical education, team sports, weight training, and personal fitness.

Justin and his wife, Dayna, have two sons, Jaxon (born June 2009) and Elijah (born June 2011).

The athletic department of The Rock School is dedicated to enriching the lives of its student-athletes through sports. The Rock School's athletic teams continue to prove that hard work and dedication translates to success on the playing field and on the court. Beyond athletic achievement, the focal point of the program is seeing our student-athletes represent the character of Christ. As we play in arenas throughout the state, we want everyone watching to witness boys and girls who play with passion and purpose.

352.331.7625 (office) | 352.283.1333 (cell) | 352.331.9760 (fax) | jharden@trsonline.org