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Coach Jason Speer: A life in basketball
(Courtesy: @BHSNathletics/Twitter)

Coach Jason Speer: A life in basketball

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Longtime coach Jason Speer has entrenched himself in the game of basketball with a career that spans all the way back to 2001, when he became an assistant coach for the Cougars at Bloomington High School North in Indiana.

While there, Speer worked under hall of fame coach Tom McKinney, and the two of them had the luxury of being able to coach some talented players. When Speer joined Bloomington North’s athletic staff, Sean May, who ended up being a superstar while playing for the Tar Heels of North Carolina University, was a junior at Bloomington North.

Speer was an assistant at Bloomington North until he took the head coaching job at Columbus North High School in Columbus, which is a little less than an hour away from Bloomington. While coaching at Columbus North, Speer continued to grow his already impressive coaching resume.

He compiled a 115-48 record at Columbus North, which equates to a 70.6% winning percentage. He also led the team to a sectional title in his final season there, steering them to a 23-2 regular season record and a 92.0% winning percentage.

Speer left Columbus North in 2015 and returned to Bloomington North, where he took an assistant coaching job under Jeff Turmail with the girls basketball team and helped develop the club. Though they struggled in his first two years in that position, putting up only six wins, Speer was proud of the way his team fought and battled through each season.

“I learned a lot about passion from the girls, their wanting to learn more about the game, a lot of what I would call ‘warriorism,”’ Speer said at the time. “We weren’t maybe the best team on the floor, but they were a very, very brave team. They did everything that was asked of them and accomplished a lot.”

Speer then took over as the boys head coach in 2017. The boys stumbled out of the gate in Speer’s first season, going 6-17, but in each year following, Speer has led the boys squad to a winning record, winning at least 13 games per season.

It’s looking as though Speer’s trend of winning is continuing, as the boys are off to a hot start this season. Much of their success can be attributed to the lessons Speer impresses upon his players.

“Each possession is very, very precious,” Speer said after Bloomington North came from behind to beat the Flashes from Franklin Central High. “If we’re trying to fine-tune things and basketball is an imperfect game. A lot of these guys are going to play college basketball, and before they do, I want them to learn that each possession means a lot.”

Another lesson Speer teaches his players is how to bounce back from tough losses. Such was the case on Dec. 10 when Bloomington North was unable to stop a late surge by the Pioneers of Mooresville High School.

Speer praised his players for responding well to adversity and leaving it all out on the court, but also expressed the collective disappointment that his team felt after their 58-52 loss.

“We don’t need to learn those types of lessons,” Speer said. “But we certainly have to learn from them.”

So far, Speer has proven his worth as a coach and displayed his ability to lead a winning squad, and if his players can continue to learn from him and apply his lessons, the sky is the limit for what Speer can accomplish in the future.

This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.

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