After multiple strong seasons, our school’s boys junior varsity (JV) basketball team was left with a tough decision following the departure of head coach Alex Eisenburg. With numerous coaching prospects, the athletic staff decided to go with coach Thomas Stichter (Stick), last year’s assistant freshman coach. Although Stick is relatively new to our school, he has many years of basketball experience under his belt.
“I started playing basketball in third grade, and I’ve played basketball every year since then. I started coaching when I was in college, and coached on and off for the last 12 years,” Stick said.
Stick chose to coach our school’s team because of two main reasons. One reason was that he loved the people in the program, and the other was because he wanted the opportunity to become a head coach and help the program. Having also coached football and lacrosse in Ohio, Stick knows how to lead a team to success.
However, as Stick’s first season as a head basketball coach begins, he has more responsibility and challenges to overcome.
“Being fully accountable for everything is one of the largest challenges. Thinking about the whole team and everybody, all the logistics, doing all those extra pieces,” Stick said.
The responsibilities that Stick has this year will take time and bring hardships. The biggest responsibility of them all is the game plan. Stick has to prepare for every game differently but keep the expectations for his players the same.
“I like to have clear expectations in what we want to do on a few basic things. Then I just let the guys play. I give them structure and let them know what the expectation is but not micro-manage,” Stick said.
Stick has many goals for his team, but it is up to the players if they want to achieve them.
“If everybody focuses on their process and getting better, we can reach all of our team goals. For JV specifically, I want all the guys to improve and play varsity basketball next year,” Stick said.
Stick likes to be a “players coach,” giving his players opportunities and being loose around errors. Stick plans on using his previous coaching experience, along with input from his players and the varsity coach, to build a strong team to compete this season, while training them for the next level.
