Nichols Named New Squires' Girls Basketball Head Coach
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NORTH MANCHESTER - It's out with the young and in with the younger at Manchester High School.
The Squires lost 27-year-old girls basketball coach Jody Shewman when she resigned this spring. Now they are replacing her with 23-year-old Keri Nichols.
Manchester's administration approved the Nichols hiring at Tuesday's board meeting. She will teach physical education and health at the high school. Nichols graduated from a Springfield, Mo. high school in 1993 then attended Indiana University and graduated from there in December 1997.
This may be Nichols' first head coaching job - she said this is the first year she's actively looked - but she comes with star-studded credentials. She was recommended by Jan Conner, who has built a basketball powerhouse at Martinsville.
Nichols served as Conner's junior varsity coach the last three years. Two years ago Martinsville won the state title in the last single-class tournament. Last year Martinsville won the Class 4A state title as well as the Tournament of Champions title. The Artesians have won 53 straight games.
Asked what she learned from Conner, Nichols said: "Definitely being in a situation where you win, you learn a lot. You learn a lot about adversity. Repeating as state champion is the most difficult thing you can do. You find out the level of work it takes to get there, then you find out it takes even more to stay there.
"I know what it takes to be a state champion. Hopefully I can bring that to Manchester."
Nichols was one of three or four brought back for final interviews.
"We'll be a very defensive-oriented team, getting steals that we'll convert into layups," Nichols said. "We will have a run-and-gun style of play. We hope for 60 shots a game, most of them layups."
Manchester went 35-10 the last two years under Shewman, who recently took the North Miami girls basketball coaching job. The Squires advanced to the 2A semistate finals in 1998, where they lost to Bluffton. The Squires finished the season 21-4.
Manchester lost three starters off that team: point guard Katie Parker, shooting guard Jodie Peden and center Lindsay Seagert. Parker and Peden averaged 11 points, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 rebounds a game. Seagert averaged 7 rebounds a game.
Forward/guard Megan Eckert, who averaged 18.2 points and 6.3 rebounds a game as a junior, returns. So does 5-foot-11 Jessica Hicks, who averaged 6 points and 6 rebounds per game as a freshman. Those numbers went up as she helped carry the Squires in the postseason.
"I know Manchester has enjoyed a lot of success the last few years," Nichols said. "We did lose a couple of guards (Parker and Peden) who will be important to replace. We have height, and we have a scorer in Eckert.
"The program here overall is strong. We have seventh and eighth graders who have height and who are very competitive." [[In-content Ad]]
NORTH MANCHESTER - It's out with the young and in with the younger at Manchester High School.
The Squires lost 27-year-old girls basketball coach Jody Shewman when she resigned this spring. Now they are replacing her with 23-year-old Keri Nichols.
Manchester's administration approved the Nichols hiring at Tuesday's board meeting. She will teach physical education and health at the high school. Nichols graduated from a Springfield, Mo. high school in 1993 then attended Indiana University and graduated from there in December 1997.
This may be Nichols' first head coaching job - she said this is the first year she's actively looked - but she comes with star-studded credentials. She was recommended by Jan Conner, who has built a basketball powerhouse at Martinsville.
Nichols served as Conner's junior varsity coach the last three years. Two years ago Martinsville won the state title in the last single-class tournament. Last year Martinsville won the Class 4A state title as well as the Tournament of Champions title. The Artesians have won 53 straight games.
Asked what she learned from Conner, Nichols said: "Definitely being in a situation where you win, you learn a lot. You learn a lot about adversity. Repeating as state champion is the most difficult thing you can do. You find out the level of work it takes to get there, then you find out it takes even more to stay there.
"I know what it takes to be a state champion. Hopefully I can bring that to Manchester."
Nichols was one of three or four brought back for final interviews.
"We'll be a very defensive-oriented team, getting steals that we'll convert into layups," Nichols said. "We will have a run-and-gun style of play. We hope for 60 shots a game, most of them layups."
Manchester went 35-10 the last two years under Shewman, who recently took the North Miami girls basketball coaching job. The Squires advanced to the 2A semistate finals in 1998, where they lost to Bluffton. The Squires finished the season 21-4.
Manchester lost three starters off that team: point guard Katie Parker, shooting guard Jodie Peden and center Lindsay Seagert. Parker and Peden averaged 11 points, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 rebounds a game. Seagert averaged 7 rebounds a game.
Forward/guard Megan Eckert, who averaged 18.2 points and 6.3 rebounds a game as a junior, returns. So does 5-foot-11 Jessica Hicks, who averaged 6 points and 6 rebounds per game as a freshman. Those numbers went up as she helped carry the Squires in the postseason.
"I know Manchester has enjoyed a lot of success the last few years," Nichols said. "We did lose a couple of guards (Parker and Peden) who will be important to replace. We have height, and we have a scorer in Eckert.
"The program here overall is strong. We have seventh and eighth graders who have height and who are very competitive." [[In-content Ad]]