Ryan Emter takes over Henning program

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

For the first time in over a quarter century, a new face will be roaming the sidelines at the Henning girls basketball games this winter.  ¶  Longtime junior high coach and elementary teacher Ryan Emter was hired earlier this year to be the new head girls basketball coach. He took over for former head coach Mike Hepola who stepped aside earlier this year after leading the girls basketball program for over 25 years.  ¶  With a familiarity of the program as a whole, as well as having a daughter on the varsity team, Emter said the decision to accept the offer to be head coach was an easy one. 

 ¶  “Knowing the girls in the program and having my daughter on the team made the decision an easy one. When the opportunity came up, it felt like the right time to step up and lead. I’ve been involved with both the boys and girls programs in various roles for the last 18 years, including five years as Coach Randy Misegades’ assistant before shifting to offensive coordinator in football,” said Emter.

Since taking over as head coach, Emter said he has put the focus on creating an experience both on and off the court that goes much further than just the final result on the scoreboard. The program is planning to take a (couple) charter buses to games this winter and has put a renewed focus on bringing energy to practice everyday. 

“Two things really come to mind,” said Emter of what he is looking forward to in his new role. “First, I am excited to provide these girls with opportunities throughout the program. Basketball is not just about wins and losses to me. It’s about creating experiences they’ll remember for a lifetime and building character. We’ve been reading a team book, planning to take a charter bus to a few games, and creating experiences that build team chemistry, which is essential for a quality team. The second thing I look forward to is bringing my energy into the program. We crank the music and get after it every day.”

As he prepared for the upcoming season, the first-year head coach has tapped into the lessons he learned from a number of the coaches he has worked with over the past 18 years, both in basketball and football. Some of the coaches he credited include Don Seipkes, Eric Olson, Dan Peterka and Randy Misegades. He said Hepola has also been very supportive in passing the torch to the new head coach, while also having assistant coach Chris Dague return to the sidelines this year has made for an easier transition with the team.

Emter said he is also excited to add Jason Speer as the junior high coach for both the boys and girls programs to help lay the foundation for the next generation of Hornets. 

“There has been a lot of focus on working with people to find ways to grow the program,” said Emter. 

After holding Browerville to just 27 points in the opening game of the season, Emter said the Hornets will focus on playing solid defense to keep them in games throughout the year. With another difficult schedule in the Park Region Conference, including a number of tough Class AA schools, the Hornets know they will have some pretty difficult match ups along the way. However, if they are able to create turnovers on the defensive end of the court the team will not only limit the scoring opportunities of their opponents, but open up the offense for open 3-pointers and fast break points. 

With just two seniors and one junior at the varsity level, Henning is still a fairly young team, despite returning a lion share of their regular line up from last season. The team is hoping to find some early success on the court and create a bit of a following in the stands as they get into the heart of their conference schedule. 

“I’m looking forward to helping the team showcase their talents. We have a long way to go, but if they work hard in practice and in games they will attract a bigger following on game nights and the wins will take care of themselves,” said Emter. “Our main goal is a one game mentality. We focus on one game and give everything we have to prepare for it. I’ve learned firsthand in football that injuries can change a season in an instant so it’s better to stay in the moment and take it one game at a time.”

One of the big challenges for the Hornets this season will be a lack of numbers at the senior high level. Like many Class A schools the Hornets have seen a bit of a dip in participation in girls basketball of late, something the new coach is hoping to turn around in coming years. As a result, Henning decided to only field a varsity team this season and will allow the junior high members to play at their grade level to get additional experience for future years.

Similar decisions were made by a few other programs in the region over the past few years with those teams seeing their numbers bounce back to field additional teams outside of just a varsity squad. Since a bulk of the varsity team is sophomores and underclassmen, Henning has the unique ability to take some time to build participants back into the program over the next few years. 

While the decision was not an easy one, Emter emphasized the importance of finding ways to keep the girls out for basketball as they get older.

“There was a lot of thought and discussion that went into this,” said Emter of not fielding a JV or c-squad. “Ultimately, we felt it was best to let the younger girls play at their grade levels and get full games. We have good numbers in K through 8, but the challenge will be keeping them out in grades 9 through 12. Our hope is to get them in the program and then keep them engaged longer so our numbers can hold strong at the varsity level.”

In order to create a bit of a buzz with the younger students, Emter unveiled a bag tag night for youth in the K-6 program where participants can show their Hornet bag tag and get a free gift bag at select home games. The elementary program also received new jerseys this year and the plan is to have them play at halftime of basketball games to encourage them to play basketball for the Hornets one day. 

“Bag tag night was just a fun way to get younger girls to come to a game and give basketball a try. We are going to outfit our K-6 programs with jerseys, announce them at games, have them play at halftime, and encourage them to pick up the ball at home. Our Summer Bash Camp and Scoops for Hoops were big hits this offseason. Both programs ran team stores, so there is a lot of fresh apparel out there as well,” said Emter. “Honestly, one of my favorite parts has been giving the younger girls their new jerseys. I’m not sure which is going to be better, seeing the girls’ faces with their jerseys on or the parents’ faces as they watch their little girl run out on our new court for the first time. It is all exciting, and I know it is helping bring the buzz back to Henning girls basketball.”

As he heads into the second week of game action as new head coach, Emter said he is thankful for the support he has received and is looking forward to the upcoming season. 

“I’m just so thankful and grateful for our community and all those outside it who support us as well. I’m excited to work with the players and their families and continue building a program that gives the girls opportunities to succeed both on and off the court,” he said.