The last time Adam Bontreger competed in Class 2A basketball, he earned back-to-back state titles at Westview High School. Now Bontreger, 27, returns to 2A competition as the new head coach at Tri-West Hendricks High School.
Tri-West hired Bontreger in the second week of May after a three-step interview process that evaluated eight different coaches. Eighty coaches applied for the job.
“[We hired him because of] his experience as a player, the fact he won a state championship, competed at the collegiate level, and how he turned around a program at Southern Wells,” Tri-West Principal Jim Diagostino said. “They (Southern Wells) were typically a football school and they were able to get things done basketball-wise. I think he will bring in some fresh and new approaches that the kids and our community can buy into.”
After graduating from Huntington University in 2005 and leading the Foresters to two NAIA national tournament appearances as a point guard, Bontreger coached at Class 1A Southern Wells for three years. When he took over the program, the Raiders were 2-19 the year before and averaged 30 turnovers a game.
“Honestly, when I first got there, we couldn’t do a simple three-man weave properly,” Bontreger said. “That’s how much we struggled at the simple fundamentals.”
The Raiders finished 5-18 his first year as head coach, 8-13 his second year, and 10-11 his final year. He also led Southern Wells to the sectional championship game in his third season. Next year, they are favored to win their sectional.
When Bontreger arrived in Lizton, he began building a “full program,” one of the main goals he stressed in the interview process. He wants to invest in the junior high, the freshmen, and the junior varsity along with his varsity players.
“He hasn’t let me down in any way, shape or form,” Diagostino said. “He has definitely backed up his talk with action, and the program has had a great summer.”
The varsity had a 15-6 summer record, the junior varsity played in two weekend tournaments, and the freshmen played in one weekend tournament. Two weeks ago, he took all three levels to team camp in Ohio. He also holds weight training for junior high and high school players three times during the week.
“I feel a lot better now after playing during the summer with him,” said senior point guard Randall Lowe. “It’s been a lot of fun. I think we will be really good. We will be small but the style of play he is bringing into the program will benefit us.”
Bontreger plans on playing a different style than former head coach Eric Rauch, who coached Tri-West for 11 years and will take the head-coaching job at Westfield High School next year.
The Class 4A Shamrocks were 8-13 last season and have yet to capture a sectional title.
“He was a flex guy; I’m a motion guy,” Bontreger said. “He ran a lot of sets; I run a lot of transitions. They played a lot of zone last year; I want to play man-to-man.”
Tri-West finished 13-11 last year and fell to Covenant Christian in the sectional final. The Bruins won a sectional title in 2008 — their first since 1991 — and a county title in 2006.
According to HickoryHusker.com, the Bruins are the dark horse in 2A basketball this year.
Bontreger will teach English at Tri-West in the fall and is getting married on Oct. 3 to his fiancé Stephanie.
Sports
New coach brings new style to Bruins
- Sports
-
-
Bethesda makes history with sectional win
BROWNSBURG — Senior Olivia Harrison literally helped build Bethesda Christian’s field four years ago and Thursday night she was instrumental in breaking ground in another area for the Patriots — a sectional championship.
-
Cadets fall to Eagles in sectional final
CLAYTON — Despite all of Cascade’s best efforts, the Cadets came up short in their sectional softball final for the second consecutive year. Three Cadet errors late in the game set up the South Putnam Eagles’ win.
-
Heartbreaking loss ends Orioles’ season prematurely
INDIANAPOLIS — It was not supposed to end like this.
Graduating only two seniors from last year’s Class 4A state runner-up softball team and returning the core of its squad, this was going to be to the season the Avon softball team took the crown.
-
Bulldogs bite Orioles
AVON — The contest between the Avon and Brownsburg baseball teams would have ended as a 1-0 advantage for the Bulldogs had the second and third innings not gotten away from the Orioles. Brownsburg caught fire in those two innings of Thursday’s sectional game and won convincingly, 7-1.
-
Patriots eliminate Quakers
PLAINFIELD — Baseball legend Willie Keeler once said the secret of hitting was to “hit ‘em where they ain’t.” Unfortunately for the Plainfield Quakers baseball team, too many of their key at bats went to Terre Haute North fielders as the Patriots won a 5-1 decision over the host Quakers in the opening game of Class 4A Sectional 12 on Wednesday.
-
Bulldogs wake up in sixth inning, pull off comeback win
INDIANAPOLIS— For five innings, it looked like Brownsburg’s postseason run would end the same night it begun.
-
Cadets blow by Bulldogs, 9-0
CLAYTON — Following a 9-1 win over Cloverdale on Monday night, the Cascade softball team returned to the field for second round play against Monrovia on Tuesday in the 2012 2A Sectional No. 44 semifinal.
-
Avon's doubles team advances
INDIANAPOLIS — Avon’s top doubles girls’ tennis team could have lost concentration after an early advantage.
-
Bruins win late to advance in sectional, 3-2
BEECH GROVE - With three hits through five innings, the Tri-West softball team needed some offense and the bottom of its lineup came through.
-
Bulldogs fall in sectional final
BROWNSBURG — Heading into the sectional final last Saturday, the Brownsburg girls’ tennis team sought its 10th sectional championship. After four matches had finished, it was knotted up at 2-2 with the No. 2 singles match heading into the third and deciding set.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
