As Jared Garman embarks on his seventh season as Riverton Parke girls' basketball coach, he is an extremely busy man.
Garman is the offensive coordinator for the Riverton Parke football team, balancing the pursuit of a football sectional title while preparing his basketball team for the rigors of a new season.
"We have been full tilt the last three weeks as football has continued and girls basketball is starting. I joke with my wife every year around this time, I will see you at Christmas time. The way we have been playing football the last couple years, we play into November, and it crosses over quite a bit with the girls season. I enjoy it. I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it, and it has been a lot of fun," Garman told The Parke County Post.
Garman said the two roles require him to juggle schedules; he opts for morning practices with his basketball team and lets his assistant coaches lead practice while he finishes football practices.
"I don't know if it gets any easier, but at the same time, the expectations we have for ourselves in football—we want to play 12 or more games. When we get to week eight, I anticipate the juggling act. It is a blessing to trust my assistants, but me being me, I have a little OCD when it comes to making sure everything is in order. You can't be in two places at the same time, so you rely on your family, you rely on your coaching staff and you rely on the kids you are coaching to understand it is a delicate time right now. We want to win a sectional title in football and get started on the right foot for basketball. It is hectic, but I wouldn't have it any other way, and I enjoy the grind," Garman admitted.
A season ago, Riverton Parke finished 13-10, falling to Faith Christian in the second round of the sectional. Of the losses, six were by 9 points or less.
"Last season was a lot of fun. If you go back and look at our scores, we lost only a few games by double digits, and that's not very telling about the games we lost. Clay City was a bit of a fluke, and the Seeger game wasn't out of hand until the last couple minutes. We had five seniors last year that were starters and very good. We competed for a conference for the most part. We had a bad quarter in the fourth quarter against Faith and came up just short of a goal of competing for a sectional. They were a special group of girls and had played together from the third grade until their senior year," Garman said.
With those players gone, Garman has embraced the "challenge" that comes with new faces in new positions.
"We have only one varsity full time starter back and are trying to find out what these girls' talents and skills are. Jacee Stonebreaker is the returning player, and she has played since she was a freshman. She is my lone senior. I expect a lot from her, and I have made those expectations known to her. Jacee can handle the pressure, but the thing she has to figure out is going from being a role player to the leader spot and be me on the floor. She will get there," the veteran coach said.
The Panthers opened the season November 3 with a 38-18 loss to Cloverdale.
"We are playing two to three games a week from here on out, and for our four freshmen out of a team of 10 and a sophomore back from health issues, it is a learning experience. They got the first varsity experience out of the way and learned when they are open, they need to shoot it," Garman said.
Despite the setback, Garman said he is excited to see what is in store with his team, especially with the youth.
"It takes me back to when I first became coach and inherited a team that was decent and established. They played as sophomores and freshmen and were established. With this group that graduated last year, I had to start all over again. That's the nature of Class A and 2A basketball. Every couple of years, you start all over with a fresh set of girls that want to learn and want to win," Garman said.
The Panthers will hit the floor Saturday at the Heritage Environmental Tip-Off Classic at North Putnam. Riverton Parke will play North Putnam, while Shakamak and Covenant Christian are also involved.
"It is non-conference, and we have the Banks coming up where we play more familiar teams, but I like playing in this tournament. North Putnam does a great job of hosting, and the teams are comparable and competitive. Last year, we lost in two overtime games and we get a tournament atmosphere feel and get a taste of three straight games in a week when the sectional comes around," Garman said.
As for goals, Garman has several.
"I want to get them to compete. We have a lot of young girls that have not played at the varsity level, and a lot will be coming back next year. We have a chance to build and get to where we want to be, and keep the train rolling. I have had ups and downs in my seven years with good classes and then lost them all. I want to get excitement going for Lady Panther basketball and get more girls out to play. I want to get the competitive spirit going a little bit and get better every game," Garman said.
