It takes about nine months for a baby to come into the picture. After nine months of waiting, head coach Kyle Carhart had his child. This left a major void at the head coaching spot for the boys varsity basketball team, though, as coach Carhart’s brief hiatus from coaching started in the thick of the regular season.

Ken George was the head coach for FHC for a very long time, including the time period where he coached both of his sons, Jordan and Tyler. Last week, though, FHC assistant coach Jordan George was forced to step into the spotlight to fill in for coach Carhart. This came at a very important time, as FHC had important games like East Grand Rapids and Forest Hills Northern to prepare for during Carhart’s absence.

Yet, the players and captains of the team were optimistic about coach George’s temporary promotion to head coach. For the past two years, senior captains Pierson VanGorp and Ben Scholler played under coach Jordan George when he was the JV head coach and an assistant on varsity. The players realized that it was quite the opportunity for coach George to showcase his coaching talents at a higher level. Most of all, they were excited to keep the head coaching position in the family.

“It means he’s been through a pretty interesting journey here at FHC,” Pierson said. “He started here at the JV level a few years ago and then recently got moved up to the varsity level. We didn’t know what to expect from him at the time, but he was phenomenal while Carhart was out. He’s brought the team together.”

It’s one thing to aspire to be successful, but actually getting the job done is what matters. Coach George had to face two of FHC’s biggest rivals right off the bat with EGR and FHN, yet he was more excited to face off against them than he was nervous.

“Coaching any game at the varsity level at FHC is going to be special. It’s been my dream since I was young, but the fact that the first one was against East Grand Rapids was awesome. Growing up, East was always one of our biggest rivals, and we’ve had so many great battles with them. When coach Carhart told me that was going to be my first game coaching, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t heighten things a bit,” coach George said. “In terms of goals that week, we continued to communicate to our guys all year that we want to be peaking at the right time. We took a really good step forward with that in the East game and then struggled in the FHN game, but we want our trajectory to be continually climbing as a group. I was able to lean on our guys, especially our senior leaders, to set the tone for our team, and the celebration in the locker room after the East game was pretty special for all of us.”

In Ben Scholler’s eyes, coach George can be a big part of Rangerball’s future. Ben, a two-year varsity player, is one of the smartest basketball players to pass through the program here at FHC. So to hear praise like that from someone like that just shows how much potential coach George has in coaching.

“We were very happy for him to be the head coach for a couple of games while coach Carhart had his family stuff; he is a great coach and can be a part of the future of FHC basketball,” Ben said.

It’s a special moment for not just Jordan but for the fans who have supported FHC basketball for a while now. Most of those fans will never get the chance to play basketball at the varsity level, but they will get the chance to play for coach George and legendary Rangerball alumni at camps like Hoop Smart and Michigan Guard Academy.

“It means a ton to be able to coach these guys every day because I have a positive relationship with this group—they were my first two JV teams, so the progression to varsity has been natural and fun. I’ve known some of these guys since they were in first or second grade, so the relationships go back quite a while,” coach George said. “I remember when Ben Scholler and Pierson VanGorp could barely dribble at my dad’s basketball camps when they were young, and now they’re out here leading our team. I’ve enjoyed getting to know all of them as not just players but as guys off the basketball court too.”