The IBCA is continuing its Mentoring Program in the 2023-24 season. The program was started in 2019-20. The effort was upgraded in 2020-21 and takes another step forward in 2023-24. IBCA president-elect Kaley May of Danville is the coordinator this program.
Posted in the resources section of the IBCA web site is a document titled, “You got the job, so what happens next? – Program Organization.” This information was part of a presentation that IBCA executive director Steve Witty and IBCA assistant director Renee Turpa gave for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association during the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Indianapolis a few years ago. The guidelines in this document will be helpful for any coach, experienced or inexperienced, to be organized and prepared for the challenges of being a head basketball coach.
Mentor coaches for the 2023-24 season include Ryan Abbott of Carroll (Fort Wayne), Tim Adams of Park Tudor, Bobby Allen of Guerin Catholic, Greg Allison of Eastbrook, Brandon Appleton of Angola, John Baker of Woodlan, Seve Beach of South Ripley, Marty Beasley of DeKalb, Chris Benedict of Whitko, David Benter of Brownstown Central, Donnie Bowling of Anderson, Kerry Brown of Rushville, Shaun Busick of Greensburg, Aaron Butcher of Hobart, David Carpenter of Cascade, Will Coatie of Elkhart, Barak Coolman of Penn, Austin Cowley of Delphi, Daniel Cox of New Castle, Mark Detweiler of Delta, Aaron Garrett of Batesville, John Goebel of Jasper, Mike Grennes of Hebron, Joel Grindle of Plymouth, Travis Hannah of John Glenn, Josh Hendrixson of Madison-Grant, Eli Henson of Manchester, Cam Hindman of Tri-Central, J.R. Howell of Zionsville, Heath Howington of Evansville Memorial, Chris Ingels of Southwestern (Shelby), Lee Jackson of Indianapolis Metropolitan, Shabaz Khaliq of Mooresville, Rodney Klein of Cambridge City Lincoln, Cory Kreiger of Morristown, Steve Lynch of Brownsburg, Ethan Marsh of West Noble, Luke Meredith of Greenfield-Central, Ryan Miller of Providence, Matt Moore of Warsaw, Scott Radeker of Northridge, Mark Rohrer of Gibson Southern, Tyler Scherer of McCutcheon, Josh Thompson of Barr-Reeve, Jake Turner of Winchester, Marc Urban of Chesterton, Ryan Varga of South Bend Washington, Matt Wadsworth of Edgewood, Sherron Wilkerson of Jeffersonville, Garrett Winegar of Fishers and Remus Woods of Indianapolis Lutheran;
Also, Brandon Allman of Brownstown Central, Mike Armstrong of Franklin Community, Justin Bennett of Tri-West, John Bodey of Garrett, Brad Bowsman of Twin Lakes, Kyle Brasher of Gibson Southern, Beth Brown of South Bend Career Academy, Brad Burden of Providence, Amanda Carmichael of Clarksville, Tyler Choate of Evansville North, Katie Collignon of Marquette Catholic, Travis Connor of Princeton, Ray Davis of Maconaquah, David Disbro of Oldenburg Academy, Jared Estep of Lakewood Park Christian, Brian Ferris of Indian Creek, Lisa Finn of Indianapolis Cathedral, Steph Gongaware of Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, Randy Gianfagna of Floyd Central, Aaron Groves of Cowan, Andy Heim of Bellmont, Jerry Hickey of Salem, Lacey Higgins of Barr-Reeve, Shaun Hill of Goshen, Mickey Hosier of Alexandria, Candice Huckstep of Lebanon, Zack Keyes of Northview, Lenny Krebs of Warsaw, Aubrey Lady of Oregon-Davis, Rush McColley of Harrison (West Lafayette), Bob Meier of Castle, Stacy Mitchell of Warren Central, Adam Morelock of Southport, Zach Newby of Lapel, Wes Radtke of Rensselaer Central, Jared Rehmel of Linton-Stockton, Nick Rogers of Pendleton Heights, Chris Seibert of Crown Point, April Settles of White River Valley, Carrie Shappell of Leo, Jason Simpson of Greensburg, Debbie Smiley of Brownsburg, Doug Springer of Northridge, Will Staal of Avon, Kelsey Steele of Westfield, Eric Thornton of Norwell, Kristi Ulrich of Penn, Matt Vick of Borden, Lauren Votaw of Fishers, Chad Wetz of Seeger, Brett White of Columbus North, Shaunte Williams of Jimtown, Tod Windlan of Wes-Del and Ryan Yoder of Westview.
Under Coach May’s direction, the IBCA has matched the mentor coaches with first-year varsity head coaches from across the state. The mentor coaches have been asked to touch base regularly with the first-year coaches with a set of topics to discuss. The topics include:
WEEK OF: TOPIC
Sept. 25: Introductions, share information on coaching background
Oct. 9: Advice for tryouts/practice structure
Oct. 23: Advice on preparation for a team’s first game
Nov. 6: Explain leadership structure and team culture tips
Nov. 20: Explain you scout opponents and provide advice
Dec. 4: Provide a favorite full-court drill and half-court drill
Dec. 18: Provide a “go-to situation” play
Jan. 1: Provide a defensive concept
Jan. 15: Explain how you keep your team sharp preparing for sectionals
Jan. 29: Explain how to nominate players for end-of-season IBCA honors
Feb. 12: Explain the value of the IBCA Clinic and how to register
Feb. 26: Discuss your end-of-season wrap up and how you prepare for the offseason
The IBCA thanks all the mentor coaches for being a part of this program to help fellow coaches. Anyone with questions about the IBCA Mentoring Program should contact Coach May at 317-341-4953 or by email at kmay@danville.k12.in.us.
