The excitement between a proud program and its new coach is almost palpable and certainly mutual.
Joe Jakubick, who resigned Thursday as head coach of St. Vincent St. Mary’s girls varsity basketball squad, will take over the St. Peter’s Spartans boys program in 2014. The coach said Friday that he has already felt welcomed to his new post.
The coach said he’s already received a “tremendous amount of support and encouragement” within his hometown of Mansfield, saying, “It’s truly overwhelming and I’m very humbled by it.”
“He’s excited and so are we,” stated his new boss, St. Peter’s Athletic Director Tim Failor. “He is so enthusiastic; it is contagious. His enthusiasm is just wonderful.”
Jakubick comes with significant St. Peter’s ties, where he spent 10 out of his 12 years in grade school and high school before finishing at Madison Comprehensive High School. The coach emphasized that values will remain a large part of his work.
“I have a simple rule for my team: treat other people how you want to be treated,” Jakubick said. He said he enjoys parochial systems because of the values he is able to instill in the young people he coaches. For him, that comes first. “Somewhere after that comes winning and losing games,” he summarized.
However, if history is any indication, success will follow a very close second.
Arguably one of the best players to come out of Richland County, Jakubick ultimately finished his high school career as a Madison Ram in 1980. He went on to play guard for Akron University, where he was a relentless scorer. During his time as a Zip, he was busy piling up school and conference records, leading the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in scoring for three consecutive years to finish with 2,583 points. That total still ranks second overall in the conference record books.
His senior campaign’s scoring average of 30.1 point per game (1983-1984) led the entire nation and securing his place among the Akron Zips’ greatest players. After he graduated, Jakubick was even drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the third pick in the 7th round of the 1984 draft – the same draft that saw Michael Jordan go at the third pick in the first round.
When he began coaching, success ultimately followed him. According to Mark Kern of the Northeast Ohio Media Group, Jakubick’s ten year tenure at St. Vincent St Mary’s, reached a record of 156-78 and, in 2014, netted them their first trip to Columbus since 1995.
Jakubick said he got into coaching with the goal of ultimately coaching his daughter – a goal he and his daughter, Cassie lived out in 2014. The coaching opportunity he received from St. Vincent St. Mary’s is one he described as a “tremendous experience” and “tremendous environment.” When the opportunity to return to Mansfield arose, he was interested in making a return to his hometown.
The hire is an ideal one for a program filling a vacancy at the level of veteran Pat Durham. Durham was brought on in 2010 after the Spartan’s program cycled three coaches in as many years. The veteran coach, at age 70, is credited with bringing stability. When Durham announced his retirement after a 13-10 season and a second place Mid Buckeye Conference finish, the program stood markedly better than when he began.
Both Failor and Jakubick both noted that recent winning seasons under Durham and returning talent give them reason for optimism. Failor noted that one thing set Jakubick’s candidacy apart was his strong desire to return St. Peter’s to the high levels of success it has enjoyed in decades past.
“I’ll give my best effort,” said Jakubick, “Hopefully I can build on [recent success] and hopefully we can have some enjoyable days where the programs gets back where it was in the late seventies.”
As the work of a new tradition begins, Jakubick seeks to make the journey a memorable one for his new squad.
“When it’s all said and done, you want to make it a positive experience” added Jakubick. “You only go to high school once. At the end of the day, you want those kids to say ‘Man, that was fun.’”
