JaVontae Ford is an experienced basketball player who is beginning his coaching career as the head coach for the girls JV basketball team. Ford was a tremendous high school basketball player and graduated from Forest Hills Northern. He then went on to play at the collegiate level for the Davenport Panthers, where he scored 1,902 points over his career. 

Throughout his career at Davenport, Ford was named to the first team all-WHAC, the all-WHAC defensive team, and was twice listed as an honorable mention for All-American. Ford proved his impact as a panther on the court, and by the end of his career, he was the all-time leader in points (1902), rebounds (695), and steals (235). 

“Stepping on the Forest Hills Central grounds was new to me, and everyone talked about if that would be different for me, but honestly, that was about ten to twelve years ago; happy wife happy life,” Ford said. “I redshirted my freshman year [at Davenport] because I was extremely small and wasn’t skilled enough, but just worked my butt off.”

JaVontae has enjoyed his time thus far getting to know the girls and pushing them to improve every day. His competitive nature drives him constantly to be thinking of what can help lead the team to develop and grow. But, on the other hand, he adores the short-term memory of his players after a loss and talks about how no matter what, the girls always show up to practice the next day with a smile on their faces. 

“Win or lose, these girls are excited. I am such a competitor that it had to grow on me. What we notice is that as upset as we are after a loss, it’s like the girls have already forgotten about that loss, and they are excited to be back and be with each other,” Ford commented. “To see that the girls are getting along really well and they love being around each other, that is why I love coming back to practice every single day.”

This season is special for JaVontae and his wife Allison because they just had their first baby together. A baby girl named Breslin. Allison dedicated a lot of time to taking care of the baby early on in the season, and once she was ready, she was able to join her husband on the bench. JaVontae is very thankful for this incredible opportunity. 

“This year welcoming our baby girl Breslin we decided that Allison was not going to have a lot of time to dedicate to the program seeing that she would be a new mom and I would be a new father,” Ford said. “So we figured we would tackle it together and step in as needed, and once Allison was comfortable jumping on board and being an assistant coach.”

The girls JV basketball team is a couple of games behind the conference leaders, and with a team goal to win the conference, the ladies will need to finish out the season on a high note. On the other hand, JaVontae’s personal goal is to prepare the girls for the next season and for life after basketball or high school. Ford’s incredible character and personality have helped the girls grow throughout the season on and off the court. There is no doubt that JaVontae Ford is an incredible coach and role model for his team.