Welcome, basketball coaches, to the 2022-23 season. We have had another great summer of Indiana high school basketball, and I am sure you all are looking forward to a fantastic fall preparing your teams for the upcoming season. I wish you the best of luck as we begin the coming year.
I am finishing up my fifth and final year as president of the IBCA, and I want to thank all of you coaches whom I have been fortunate enough to meet and get to know through this role. It has been a pleasure to serve you. Our IBCA directors are outstanding leaders who are committed to grow our game while preserving the traditions that have made Indiana basketball so great. I would like to thank all of them for their support and leadership. I feel blessed to have been allowed to be a part of this group.
Our IBCA/IHSAA Boys and Girls Top 100 Underclass Showcase events were held in June. As usual, it was highly praised by the players participating, the parents watching and the college coaches observing and evaluating. It continues to be a great event to allow our student-athletes to display their skills.
Our other huge event this summer was the IBCA/IHSAA Team Showcase in memory of Charlie Hughes. We had some amazing teams and talent on display at this event. Numerous coaches believe it to be one of the most valuable and credible tools that they have in evaluating their teams during summer events because of the four eight-minute quarters, the officiating and the head-to-head matchups.
We still would like to grow our membership numbers in the IBCA. Please, head coaches, continue to reach out to the coaches on your staff at every level and explain the benefits of being a part of this organization. Joining the IBCA gives each coach the benefit of a $2 million liability insurance policy.
Coaches, remember that our IBCA Mentor Program is for experienced or inexperienced coaches. We have several coaches in each district to whom you can reach out to at any time. These mentor coaches are veterans who are willing to share their passion and knowledge of the game of basketball.
We would like to thank our corporate partners for their support of the IBCA. The contributions from BSN Sports, Ballogy, Franciscan Health Sports Medicine, Energy Systems Group, Point Guard College, Shoot-A-Way/The Gun, McDonald’s and D-One Camps are an outstanding benefit to our organization. These partnerships continue to help make high school basketball a great experience for our student-athletes.
Coaches, I hope you all have successful seasons. Most of all, I hope you enjoy yourselves. Keep in mind the impact you have on young people’s lives. Twenty years from now, your student-athletes will be visiting with teammates and classmates at a class reunion and begin a sentence: Remember when coach … .
Have an impactful season.
– Craig Teagle
