Before the school year began, I wrote a column about all the lasts before my family as Jayna traveled through her senior year and did certain things for the final time. One of those occurred last week when the girls’ basketball team lost in the playoffs. No longer will Jayna don the black and red colors of the NRHEG Panther basketball program. It was a somber moment, seeing her out there for the last time, but that was not the only ending.
When I started at NRHEG in 1996, I was eager to coach. I found out in early November that year that I would coach junior high girls’ basketball. John Schultz was the varsity coach at the time, and he sat down with me to talk about his expectations for the portion of the program I was taking on. His philosophy matched up largely with my own: focus on fundamentals such as ball-handling and shooting.
These were the days before we had an elementary basketball program, so a lot of the girls were very raw when they arrived for the beginning of practice. I was fortunate to have Dan Stork with me, also coaching at that level, and he helped guide me in those early days.
Thus began my association with the girls’ basketball program, one that has taken many turns over the years, but one that is now, largely, over. It’s been fantastic over the years, seeing the growth of all the girls who have come through and watching the great successes the teams have had, culminating in five trips to the state basketball tournament. The two championships, 3rd place, 4th place, and consolation championship will always remain some of my favorite memories.
It was fantastic in 2004 when the girls headed to state for the first time. I looked out on that floor and was so proud of those kids, many of whom I had watched as younger players. They were fundamentally sound, and I recall thinking how thankful I was that Coach Schultz and Coach Stork had really cemented the idea of working on those every day. Every girl on that team knew how to handle a basketball, even if they weren’t the point guard. Every girl had worked on the proper shooting form and they were rewarded with every high school player’s dream.
As Jayna got to 3rd grade, I made the transition to elementary coaching. Coaching 3rd graders is no easy task. It was a lot like my first year, where I had 7th graders with a wide range of abilities, based on whether they had parents or older siblings who had worked with them or not. I learned a lot as a coach as I helped guide my daughter’s group through 6th grade, and when the chance came to follow them into 7th grade and resume the old duties of junior high coach, I jumped at it.
I had missed the daily work and interactions. You don’t get that in elementary basketball, where you practice a couple times a week and have occasional tournaments. I was both rejuvenated and tired, having forgotten what a grind the winter sports season can be when you’re working all day and then coaching a couple more hours. After coaching for two more years, I stepped back again, mainly because Jayna was on to the high school, along with Anton having plenty of action as he finished elementary basketball.
So what to do now? I loved being part of the program and wanted to continue in some way. I was fortunate that Coach Onika Peterson, a former player of mine and now, in a great coincidence, coaching my daughter, needed someone to keep the scorebook on the road. I was going anyway, so I was happy to take it on. It’s not too difficult, and it gave me a great view of every game.
But now that’s done too. With Jayna graduating, I’ll be sure to be at all the boys’ games next year, watching my son play. I’ve only gotten to see about half his games over the past few years, and I’ll be happy to switch gears a bit.
But it’s still a bit sad. Outside of announcing games when I can, I’ll have no direct association with girls’ basketball for the first time in my tenure here. I’m so thankful to the coaches who have helped me be part of this over the years, including the athletic director when I started, Ted Pelzl. I’m very thankful to the coaches who have helped my daughter grow and especially to Onika for allowing me to continue with the program and take time to sit and just talk hoops.
I’ve kept three pencils in the inside pocket of my winter jacket these past four years. I used three because you always need to be prepared in case two of them break! Those same three pencils got me through four years of C-squad, JV, and varsity basketball games, and now they’ll go back in my desk.
Although...Onika will need a new bookkeeper next year. Maybe you want to be part of a great program? These girls will be fun to watch, and I’ll miss seeing them at every game. But I’ll also enjoy watching my son and the other boys play more often. It’s been an honor and a pleasure to be part of NRHEG girls’ basketball.
And I can’t wait for the next trip to state!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is jape, which means a joke or prank, as in, “The announcer threw out a jape when each girl would come to check in, causing each to smile.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!