MHS hires alumnus to boys' basketball staff

staff
Posted 5/19/21

MENDOTA – Mendota High School will have another former player on its boys’ basketball coaching staff after Steve Wasmer was hired as an assistant coach by the Board of Education at its May 17 meeting.

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MHS hires alumnus to boys' basketball staff

Posted

MENDOTA – Mendota High School will have another former player on its boys’ basketball coaching staff after Steve Wasmer was hired as an assistant coach by the Board of Education at its May 17 meeting.

Wasmer will be the assistant coach under head coach Steve Hanson for the 2021-22 season. There is a possibility that Wasmer could transition into the head coaching position the year after

Wasmer is a Mendota native and a 1998 graduate of MHS. He played basketball all four years in high school. Wasmer is currently an eighth-grade math teacher at Peru Parkside and has six years’ experience of coaching the eighth-grade boys’ and girls’ teams at Parkside.

Wasmer was in high school during some of Mendota’s best years on the basketball court in the 1990s, and he remembers the excitement the Trojans gave the fans every time they took the floor.

“The position is really attractive to me, because I can remember when Mendota basketball was a force,” said Wasmer. “The stands were filled on Friday nights, and it was exciting. I want to bring that excitement back.

“It's been a bit of a rough stretch, but there's no doubt in my mind we can have good basketball teams every year in this town. I want to drive around and see kids shooting outside. I have a great opportunity to work with Coach Hanson, who I respect immensely. He really knows the game and I'm excited to learn from him.”

Wasmer said his philosophy is pretty simple – he wants the guys on his team to outwork the other guys.

“Control the things you can control and good things happen,” he said. “Work hard and play great defense and you will, at a minimum, stay in games. Jay Bilas had a great quote in his Toughness book – 'Hard work is the price of admission for the opportunity to reach sustained excellence.' I love that statement.

“We will also be prepared. When I played, Killer (Mike Kilmartin) and my dad always had us prepared. There wasn't a single time that I thought the opposing coach had their team more prepared than us, whether it was attention to detail in practice or an incredibly detailed scouting report. When your coaches care that much and work that hard it is much easier for the players to give their best effort day in and day out. My goal is to help our teams to be that prepared as well.”