The new leader of Marion Giants
athletics brings collegiate-level experience and a vision for
maximizing student-athlete potential, supporting coaches, and generating
community excitement.
Jamy Bechler will take over as
director of athletics at Marion High School starting June 2. He was
approved by the Marion Community Schools Board of School Trustees during
its regular meeting on May 14.
“There’s a lot of opportunity at
Marion,” Bechler said. “You need a visionary leader when you have 20
sports, a wide fan base, and a proud tradition. It’s a big job, and I’m
honored to have been chosen.”
Bechler most recently served as
associate athletic director and head women’s basketball coach for Martin
Methodist College in Pulaski, Tenn. He has previously served in various
coaching and instructional positions at colleges around the country.
His history of visionary leadership in developing high level programs,
his emphasis on innovative thinking, and his passion for supporting
coaches and helping to provide the tools and opportunities for growth
are traits that will help advance Marion Giants athletics.
“Jamy brings to Marion successful
experience as a collegiate coach and athletic administrator. He will
relate well with our coaches, our student-athletes, our alumni, and our
community,” Marion Community Schools Superintendent Brad Lindsay said.
“His rich experience at the collegiate level will help us prepare our
student-athletes for life beyond Marion High School.”
Bechler emphasized the importance of
the lessons student-athletes can learn both on and off the field with
good leadership in place.
“The tradition of Marion Giants
athletic excellence, combined with dedicated, talented staff, and
outstanding community support, gives Marion Community Schools a great
opportunity to be among the best of the best in Indiana high school
athletics,” he said, “but it’s ultimately about the student-athletes.
Certainly, we want Marion athletics to be successful, but it’s really
about our individual student-athletes’ experiences, their development.
We want our students to go on to success beyond the playing field. If we
can help them develop their character, that will serve them well in
their future lives, no matter what path they travel.”
The impact he has had at his most
recent post at Martin Methodist College is clear. Not only is he the
winningest coach in the women’s basketball program’s history, but he
also led his 2013-14 team to earn the NAIA’s National Champions of
Character team award.
“It is with mixed emotions that we
congratulate Coach Bechler on his new professional opportunity,” Martin
Methodist Executive Athletic Director Jeff Bain said. “We are both
excited for him for earning this advancement, but we will also genuinely
miss him and his family. Jamy has done an outstanding job of
stabilizing and leading our women’s basketball program while competing
in two very tough conferences. In addition, he has been very resourceful
administratively as we made the transition into our new conference
affiliation this past year while he served as a member of our Athletic
Administration Management Team. We sincerely wish Coach Bechler,
Tabitha, and Jaylen nothing but the best, and we look forward to hear of
their future successes.”
Bechler’s experience and character will undoubtedly help Marion build on its proud athletic tradition.
“Successful athletic programs really
take a holistic approach,” he said. “If you don’t have good sixth-grade
teams, or ninth-grade teams, or junior varsity teams, you’re eventually
not going to have a good varsity program. So that development will
absolutely be a priority for us moving forward.”
A big part of the athletic director’s job, he said, is making sure coaches have what they need to be able to do their jobs well.
“I want to be a resource, to take
care of things behind the scenes,” he said, “so our coaches can focus on
making their student-athletes better. It’s about helping coaches with
more than just the basketball, the football, the tennis part of it.
Having been a long-time coach, I bring that perspective: How would I
like to have been helped by an athletic director when I was a coach?
That’s what I’ll be asking them. Together, we can make it possible for
them to be more successful, and ultimately for the student-athletes to
be more successful."
Lindsay expressed confidence that
Bechler, with his experience and innovative mindset, can help Marion
athletics continue to build on past success.
“The athletic director is an
important and visible leadership role for our community,” Lindsay said,
“and we look forward to Jamy and his wife, Tabitha, and their son, Jaylen, making a positive impact as they invest into the lives of the
people of Marion. We are excited about the character, vision, skill, and
expertise that Jamy is going to provide as our next director of Marion
Giant athletics.”
Bechler plans to move with his family to Marion, and Marion Community Schools is happy to welcome them.
“Marion Community Schools has
undergone amazing success in recent years in regards to graduation rates
and test scores, as evidenced by the recent U.S. News and World Report
bronze medal award,” Bechler said. “We want to be part of that continued
success.”
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