What was the impact of Scott Elchert on basketball at Jackson Center? His former protege’ and assistant, Aaron Klopfenstein, has led the Tigers to the Division IV regional tournament in his first year as head coach. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
It comes as no surprise that Jackson Center, Troy Christian and Russia all three advanced to the regional round of next week’s OHSAA tournament. All you have to do is consider the back stories.
Along press row during Saturday’s Division IV district finals at UD Arena, someone brought up the topic of how some schools can change coaches, but the product seems to remain the same.
Others, it seems, can’t.
In this particular case the product was basketball, but basketball doesn’t have a monopoly. The same can be said for any sport where longevity is observed – continuity and consistency.
For the question at hand Saturday was that of how many years, and how many coaches, have there been at Jackson Center, Troy Christian, and Russia, the three schools that all advanced Saturday after their respective wins in the district finals.
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And the answer to that question is poignant to the success of any endeavor. It’s continuity of instruction. It’s consistency of expectation. And the commitment from coaches like Paul Bremigan (Russia), Ray Zawadzki (Troy Christian), and Scott Elchert (Jackson Center).
While Bremigan is no longer the coach at Russia, he coached there for three decades and is largely responsible for that school’s culture of basketball. And along the way winning the sectional tournament became a community expectation, not unlike the expectation at Jackson Center and other Shelby County League schools.
Scott Elchert is no longer the coach at Jackson Center, but in twenty years he, too, drew the blueprint where kids grew up in the culture of Jackson Center basketball knowing that goal one was to win the league; and goal two was to win the Piqua sectional and get to the district.
Troy Christian’s Ray Zawadzki seeks to lead the Eagles back to the Final Four for the first time since 2013.
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Ray Zawadzki, of course, is the relative ‘newbie’ among the group, having coached now at Troy Christian for fifteen seasons, but before Troy Christian there was the inimitable experience of playing and coaching with his father, Ray Zawadzki, Sr. for 40 years and 512 career wins at Vandalia Butler. You learn a few things, not surprising, along the way.
The issue, of course, is culture. And you learn that culture by being around it, no different than what you learn in church or school. There’s a way to behave, and there’s a commitment to responsibility if you want to be part of things. And of course every child who grows up around it wants to be!
In the case of Paul Bremigan, he was with the late Dave Borchers, who eventually became his JV coach, and ultimately the head coach until his untimely passing two years ago. Spencer Cordonnier also grew up under the influence of Bremigan, and has twice coached the varsity boys program now at Russia, earning Division IV Coach of The Year honors in 2023. Despite the adjustments since Bremigan’s retirement in 2015, the program has hardly skipped a beat.
At Jackson Center, Scott Elchert stepped down last spring, handing the reins to former player and assistant coach Aaron Klopfenstein. Again, the transition could not have been smoother despite the Tigers dropping their first three games this season. Since, they’re rebounded to go 17-9, win a district title, and will play this coming week for a regional title and their third Division IV Final Four state appearance since 2012.
Paul Bremigan helped refine the culture of basketball at Russia. His former assistant, Spencer Cordonnier (behind him) is now the head coach.
At Troy Christian, Ray Zawadzki, Jr. is in his 15th season as head coach of the Eagles, and shows no inclination of either slowing down, or stepping down. With grandkids now in the Troy Christian basketball culture, as well as kids of former players inherent, he joked recently he’ll have to coach until he’s 90. Not surprising, when he coached at Tipp City one of his players was Robert Goldsberry, son of long-time coach and associate Frank Goldsberry. Robert Goldsberry now coaches at Tipp where his presence only enriches and reinforces the Zawadzki culture of basketball.
What makes it so special is that kids grow up under these cultures, knowing the rules, knowing that the rules are supported by school administration, and from the beginning they’re aware of the expectations and commitment necessary to participate. There’s no wavering from year to year, and the system of how to act and perform is taught from day one. It’s about execution, developing skills, and your dedication to being a good teammate and representative of the school.
Do those things and you have what UD Arena saw on Saturday. Three of west-central Ohio’s storied basketball programs claimed district titles and moved on to the next step. All three will compete at Trent Arena this week (along with Lancaster Fisher Catholic) for a coveted spot in the state Final Four the following week.
Editor/publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA and Big Ten sports for Press Pros Magazine.
This is how it works, and it’s increasingly rare in high school sports where coaches don’t stay, or they’re not allowed to stay, at one school for 30 years like Paul Bremigan did at Russia – like Ray Zawadzki, Sr. did for 40 years at Vandalia Butler. But it’s hard to argue with the value of continuity and the discipline that paved the way for their success. Back then it wasn’t the exception, but the rule.
Kids grew up together, played together, and supported each other instead of hopping districts looking for athletes they can shirttail to a title.
You had an adult figure who led, who earned the respect, and who determined the day to day course. The tail didn’t wag the dog.
But those days and those people are becoming rare – the Hetricks, the Harlows, and Zellers. Men (and women) whose legacy and impact still linger after they leave the sideline. There was a time when you dreaded to see them go.
Today, we can’t wait until they do.
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