Meet Jackson boys assistant basketball coach Mike Waseity
MASSILLON, Ohio — While other boys played with cars, trucks, and video games, Mike Waseity grew up with a basketball in his hands…and his best shot may still be ahead of him. A sixth-year assistant boys’ basketball coach at Jackson High School under Tim Debevec, Waseity has had a couple of opportunities to become a head coach elsewhere. But life takes tricky bounces sometimes, and so far, Waseity’s chances have caromed off the rim. However, life has never been easy for anyone named Waseity, and the 40-year-old Jackson coach continues to persevere.
Mike’s father died unexpectedly in 1993 when Mike Jr. was just 10 years old. His cousin Matthew passed in 2003. His uncles are Dave and Tom Waseity. Mike served as a ballboy at St. Thomas Aquinas when his Uncle Dave took the head coaching job with the Knights in 1991. Over the next 15 years, Dave Waseity’s Aquinas teams won four district championships and were a runner-up three other times. Dave’s head JV coach during those years was his brother Tom, now on the staff at Lake High School. Before his sudden passing, Mike Waseity Sr. was also a member of the Aquinas coaching staff. All three Waseity brothers, coincidentally, were graduates of St. Thomas’ rival school, Central Catholic.
“If I ever become a head coach, I would have my two uncles involved in some way,” Mike Jr. said recently. “They would be on the bench with me, or if they didn’t want to coach, I’d have them out scouting for me. Between my Dad and my uncles, I grew up with basketball, 100 percent.”
At Jackson, Waseity couldn’t ask for a better place to get noticed. The Bears have long been a Stark County hoops juggernaut, having won state titles in 2010 and 2017, first under former coach Mike Fuline and, more recently, Debevec. This season, Jackson won eight of its first eleven games, including two eyebrow-raising victories over GlenOak and McKinley. “Jackson is a ‘basketball school,’ Waseity noted. “They are very invested in the program. Coach Debevec knows my ability. Tim is like a CEO,” he added. “He lets his assistant coaches make calls and substitutions. But Tim has always done the heavy lifting. He’s devoted to every step of the program. Coaching now is a 40-hour work week. You have to do the travel teams and be visible at all the other school sports, social events, and Night at the Races. And you have to have trust and accountability among the coaching staff.”
Waseity’s full-time position is National Sales Account Manager at the Akron Auto Auction. The owner is Chad Bailey, who first recommended Waseity to Jackson’s coaching staff. Bailey was on the Jackson Youth Basketball Association Board. He knew of Waseity’s coaching experience already at Perry (Waseity’s alma mater) and at Central Catholic. Waseity served as an assistant at both schools and could be piloting either today as head coach. Growing up in Perry Township, Waseity was the Panthers’ starting point guard from 2000-2002. He would later become Rob Toth’s JV assistant. When Toth left, Perry hired Paul Wackerly as their boys’ head coach in 2009. Another member of that staff was Matt Creamer, the former mentor at Massillon and current head coach at Central.
“It takes high-level people, and you have to have everyone rowing in the same direction as you,” Waseity said regarding an opportunity at Perry. “You want to carry on the program and make sure it is successful long after you’re gone. Toth called me about the Perry job and said, ‘We want you to be our guy.’ I talked to my wife Whitney, and I talked to Coach Fuline about it. While I was there, we were the first Perry team to beat McKinley, and we won the Federal League for the first time in a decade.” Waseity’s wife of 11 years was a high school and college basketball star in her own right, coming out of Belpre, OH. The couple lives in Jackson Twp. with son Gunner, 7, and daughter Teigen, 4.
At Perry, things just didn’t work out. By 2014, Waseity had moved on to Central, who had hired Creamer. Waseity became his head assistant varsity coach, and the Crusaders won their first district championship in school history. A year later, Waseity was named Assistant Coach of the Year. “Matt told me he wanted to do two things,” Waseity recalled. “He said he wanted to get to 400 wins as a coach and win a district title. After that, he said he would ‘hand me the keys.’
Creamer coached his two sons, Christian and Cameron, at Central. He also entered into administration, becoming school principal at the now-closed St. Barbara’s Grade School in Massillon, one of Central’s traditional feeder schools. Meanwhile, Central changed its story, saying in so many words that Creamer would have the top job as long as he wanted it, and long after he had won 400 games, two district titles, and his two sons had graduated. Once again, things just didn’t quite work out for Mike Waseity.
That’s OK, as far as Jackson is concerned. They love having him on staff. The big break Waseity seeks will still likely come one day. He started out coaching at Pfeiffer Middle School in the Perry system in 2004-05. The Waseity family has been through a lot. Mike has known success, heartbreak, and personal loss. When that day finally comes, he’ll be well-equipped to handle the responsibilities that come with it.
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