PCM names Lindsay new girls hoops coach

A room full of current Prairie City-Monroe girls basketball players took part in deciding who their next coach would be.

And honesty was the best policy, according to Jeff Lindsay.

“I was straight forward with them. I wanted them to know what kind of person and what kind of coach I was,” said Lindsay. “I didn’t want to tell them just what they wanted to hear.”

Whatever Lindsay told the players and PCM Athletic Director Greg Bonnett, it was enough to land him the girls basketball job as Lindsay was officially named Mustang coach when the school board approved the hire at its monthly meeting last Monday.

Lindsay previously served as the Twin Cedars boys basketball coach for seven years and spent several years as Colfax-Mingo’s girls basketball coach.

With his oldest son Trey now graduated and his two other children not yet ready for high school athletics, Coach Lindsay thought it was the perfect time to work his way back into a head basketball coaching position.

“I always loved coaching basketball,” Lindsay said. “You have to be quick on your feet and make adjustments as the game goes on. This job appealed to me because it’s close to where I work and it allows me to do what I love to do and still be a family man.”

Lindsay will continue to teach physical education at Colfax-Mingo. He guided the Tigerhawk girls hoops team to a 14-6 record during the 2007-08 season before leaving the program two seasons later.

Lindsay also coached the Colfax-Mingo baseball team for several years and the girls golf team. He has been a volunteer assistant on the PCM boys basketball squad the past four seasons and served as an assistant baseball coach for the Mustangs since 2010.

“Coach Lindsay has been coaching for a long time,” Bonnett said. “I just know he’ll be a good fit for this program.”

The program Lindsay inherits from former head coach Bret Grier includes three seniors who were lost to graduation. That trio of Rachel Freland, Courtney VanHouweling and Rachel Gulling averaged a combined 34 points per game last year, but Lindsay does get an experienced group to work with in his first year.

“I’ve been able to watch them play a lot, and it’s a very athletic bunch,” Lindsay said. “There’s a good deal of experience coming back, and they all have lots of skills.”

Included in that list of returnees is junior-to-be Rachel Stafford. She was one of seven current players who got to sit in on interviews for the final two candidates. The other six included Katie VandeWall, Kayla Jennings, Kaylee Townsend, Karina Van Dyke, Jaiden Rogers and Abby Waddell.

Stafford is looking forward to a fresh start under Lindsay’s guidance.

“I am trying to just go into the season with a completely open mind,” said Stafford, who averaged 2.4 points and two rebounds per game last year. “I am very excited to finally have a coach and get to work.

“I love that Coach Lindsay when asked what is the perfect defense or offense for him replied ‘whatever best fits the team.’ I also really enjoy that I can tell he has a passion for the game. He loves basketball and it shows. He will be a coach that will fight for his players.”

The Mustangs are coming off a 16-8 campaign and a second place finish in the Heart of Iowa Conference. Included in those eight defeats were two losses to Class 3A state champion Nevada, state-ranked Saydel, Mediapolis, which ended the regular season ranked No. 1 and 3A state-ranked Pella.

Knowing that he is coming in at time that doesn’t give the Mustangs an advantage, Lindsay hopes that the experience of the current core players will help get the squad catch up quicker.

“I think being an experienced team helps,” Lindsay said. “It was a young group, it might be tough. We are going to have some open gyms soon and I just want to get in there and let them know what I am looking for.”

Stafford said her biggest priority during the interview process was to find a coach who can coach a team to best fit the players on the roster.

“We also wanted someone who is fun, flexible and will push us to be better players but also better people,” Stafford said. “I like the fact that it’s another coach from our community, not completely fresh blood. We will just have to wait and see how it all plays out.”