New Coach Neuschwander

When senior Jordan Neuschwander came to help with tryouts for FHN’s feeder basketball program two years ago, he had no idea his role in the program would extend further than just that. At the end of the tryout, he saw all of the fifth graders packing up their stuff getting ready to leave and noticed that they had no coach. He then realized he wanted to step up and help them. After getting permission from the person in charge of the feeder program, Doug Smallwood, as well as his own parents, Neuschwander got the OK. He became the coach of the Junior Knights fifth grade boys’ basketball team.

“I’ve always wanted to coach, but my dad would never let me take a spot coaching my brothers,” Neuschwander siad. “I already had high school basketball experience, and I wanted to pass it on.”

The FHN Jr. Knights feeder team is a program for elementary and middle school students in the district who will attend FHN when they enter high school. The program only started a fourth and fifth grade team last year, so the kids didn’t have a coach to carry them over to the next grade. If Neuschwander and Evan Gallagher, who assisted him, didn’t step up to coach the team, the kids would have most likely had to wait until the next year to join the program.

“Basketball was always something fun for me to do and I always looked up to my coaches who pushed me to not only be a better player but a better player and a better young man, and I thought it’d be a great idea if I could inspire younger kids to do that,” Gallagher said.

The team was hesitant at first because they didn’t know Neuschwander very well and because he is younger than most other coaches. Neuschwander started playing basketball in the third grade, and from then on it became a huge passion. He started playing for St. Elizabeth, and in sixth grade he joined the Junior Knights. When Neuschwander entered high school he played for FHN his freshman and sophomore years. He proved to the team his knowledge in basketball, and after gaining the trust and respect from the kids, they have shown to love having a high schooler as their coach.

“You get to learn all about them, and there’s chemistry built through everyone,” Neuschwander said. “Plus, you get to teach them stuff that doesn’t have to do with basketball, like keeping good grades, and tell them about your high school experience so that they can go on with better knowledge.”

The kids aren’t the only ones learning from this experience, according to Neuschwander. Coaching has helped him grow in the fact that it has given him more responsibility.

“Normally, I’m the one joking around but at practice, it’s these guys that are joking around, and I have to keep them on task,” Neuschwander said. “I would definitely recommend coaching as long as you have knowledge of the sport and you are good with kids. Coaching as a high school student is teaching me to be more of a role model and to fill expectations and do as well as I can.”