J-M hopes Bornemiss is answer to losing

Prep basketball

Joe Bornemiss is grateful for the chance to turn around the Bluejays’ 3-63 three-year record.

By JOHN KOVACH

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

NORTH JACKSON — Even if Joe Bornemiss wins only two games next season as the Jackson-Milton High basketball coach, he technically could say that he turned around a losing program.

But Bornemiss, who was named the school’s new coach Wednesday night at a board of education meeting, is looking for more worlds to conquer than just slightly improving the Bluejays’ 3-63 record over the previous three seasons, including 1-20 last year.

The former Girard High player, who coached the freshmen there the past two seasons for coach Mike DelBene, wants to use his ideas and strategies to turn the entire J-M basketball program, from top to bottom, into a winner.

That also would be his way of thanking the J-M Board for giving him a coaching opportunity that had eluded him for a long time, despite repeated attempts to find a program that he can run with his own ideas.

“I want rebuild the program because it has been down the past several years,” said Bornemiss, who also coached Girard’s seventh grade team for one year before taking the freshman job.

“We need to start with the younger kids and a solid youth program and build up to junior high and varsity, so we can have a more experienced program so that everybody down below is on the same page [and] when they get up to us they already will be instilled with my plan.”

Boremiss, who also served as assistant boys basketball coach at Mineral Ridge for two years (1991-93) under coach Bill O’Dell, said that he has been looking for coaching job for a long time.

His new job also came at an opportune time because he recently lost his warehousing job and is unemployed.

“I have applied to many schools for a head coaching job, and finally Jackson-Milton is giving me a shot, an opportunity to change this program to make these kids commit and want to play basketball,” said Bornemiss, who launched his coaching career with a three-year stint at St. Rose Parochial School in Girard from 1985-88.

“Right now they don’t have [the determined commitment] and are down and are frustrated. I want to set a new direction.”

Toward that end, Bornemiss, a three-year starter at Girard (1981-83) under coach Bob Krizancic, wants to begin retooling the J-M program as soon as possible.

“We will start an open gym where they can come in and practice and play games. It will start next week,” said Bornemiss. “All boys from the seventh through 12th grades will receive a letter inviting them to the gym. It is up to them to come but we encourage them to come.”

Bill Jeffries, J-M’s athletic director, said that the board saw something in Bornemiss that they were looking for to remake Bluejays’ basketball.

“He has fresh blood and enthusiasm. We are looking for new ideas, a new approach — and that’s coming from the board and that’s what they want,” said Jeffries.

He said that Boremiss will succeed Adam Underhill who coached the past two years, after Dan Ewing had coached one year.

Prior to that, Steve Sachire coached the Bluejays for eight seasons.

kovach@vindy.com