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500 wins kind of a big Diehl
Tigers help coach net his
500th victory
By BOB ETTINGER
HOWLAND
Young girls in Howland grow up dreaming of the days get the chance to wear a Howland basketball jersey. They know the Tigers’ tradition and they long to not only be a part of it, but to make it their own.
Those girls can’t wait for their chance to play for coach John Diehl, the man who has built that tradition.
“He always tries to motivate us,” Howland senior Kayla Clark said. “It’s the legacy he has had. We want to uphold that. He encourages us to do our best. We want to uphold his legacy and make it our own. That’s been a big push for me.”
With an 89-40 victory over visiting Ashtabula Lakeside on Wednesday night, Clark and her fellow Tigers claimed their piece of the legacy in giving Diehl his 500th victory, though at one point he wasn’t sure he’d get there this season.
“At the end of last year, I knew I needed 14 wins,” Diehl said. “After a four-game losing streak, I thought we might not get that many. We’ve been playing really well lately. Who knows how many we can get?”
In 25 seasons as the girls coach, Diehl is 393-185 (.680). He amassed a 107-91 (.540) record in nine seasons as the boys coach at Bristol. Overall, Diehl stands at 500-276 (.644) over 34 years.
“It’s just great to be a part of something so big,” senior Makayla Dahman said. “It’s great to be part of him reaching 500 wins. He makes us better every day.”
During that span, Diehl’s teams have won 20 games 10 times and claimed 14 league championships, 15 sectional titles, nine appearances in a district championship game, five trips to the regional tournament (1993-94 with the Bristol boys, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2005-06, 2007-08 with the girls), two appearances in a regional final (1993-94 boys, 2007-08 girls) and one trip to the final four (1993-94 boys).
Between the 2005-06 and 2011-12 seasons, The Tigers (currently 14-6) won at least 19 games in every season and never lost more than five times.
“It’s funny,” Diehl said. “Over the years, I’ve changed. Losing used to keep me awake all night. Now, I rarely ever lose sleep over a loss. I guess I’ve had enough of it. Now, what it comes down to is the girls enjoying themselves and giving 100 percent. They seem to be doing that.”
Diehl credits the coaches who have fed him players and who have worked on the sidelines with him for the success of the program.
“I’ve had tremendous fathers and several mothers who coached the kids in fifth, sixth and seventh grade,” Diehl said. “The kids come to seventh grade with a high basketball IQ. Then I have my assistants up here who work with the kids every day. How do you beat Kim Clark [Kayla’s mom], who played at Penn State? Craig Lobmiller was a head coach up in Burton [at Berkshire]. I don’t want to take a lot of credit when I’ve had such tremendous people helping along the way.”
Kayla Clark grew up outside of the Howland district, but knew she wanted to one day be a Tiger after meeting Diehl through her mom.
“It’s so cool [to be a part of this],” Kayla Clark said. “I’ve known him since I was 6 years old. Being part of this is awesome. I always hoped to play here. I always looked up the players and him as a coach.”
Senior Alex Ochman says Diehl knows just how to coach each group that comes through.
“He’s a good coach,” Ochman said. “He knows what he’s doing. He knows how to coach us. We’ve had talks with him about how the team works best.”
Diehl has a photographic memory and uses that to head off bad situations before they manifest.
“Mr. Diehl has this thing where he can remember absolutely everything,” senior Jenna Craigo said. “He can tell you the score of a game from 20 years ago. He can punch up every little thing. That makes us better.”
Diehl motivates the players every day.
“He pushes us to a high level of intensity and focus every day,” senior Jenna DeSalvo said. “It helps us eliminate mistakes. We practice like we’re in a game.”