Jonah Woodward took on his first head coaching role as he led the Clarksville boys basketball team in the 2024-25 season.
Woodward on what he learned from the role.
“Getting our guys to develop as students, as athletes, but most importantly, as people through this game. There was just a lot of moments behind closed doors where I really had to assess myself, on how can I put my kids in a better position to be successful every single day. That’s also the fun part about coaching,” says Woodward. “I got a great group of kids and just a phenomenal community with parent support. Every single day I got to wake up and go, how can I be a better person to better serve our student athletes, so they’re in a better spot to be of service to others. Understanding every single word and every single action I do has a lot more weight. Then building those relationships through one-on-one film sessions, one-on-one skill development, or just before chalk talk or before practice, getting to know our players.”
The Indians will graduate three seniors including Peter Kielman and Iowa Star all-conference honorees Sam Hoodjer and John Stauffer. They are projected to return 12 players including team captain Camden Behrends who led the team with 54 assists and third leading scorer and rebounder Dawson Barnett with 139 points and 91 rebounds.
Woodward on the structure of offseason work and looking ahead to year two.
“Mentally and physically getting our guys bigger, faster, stronger, and more confident. I’m really looking forward to the weight room this summer, getting in the gym, minimum of three days a week as a team and with individuals and then doing some summer stuff on Saturdays and Sundays. We already got some scheduled stuff up and going. The biggest thing is just being more competitive in every single thing we do. We are going to have a pretty young team next year. Really looking forward to the challenge. We do lose two big seniors, but it’s a great opportunity to have new voices, new leadership, and for guys to step up. We’re looking forward to watching some of those younger guys step up for us next year.”
Clarksville concluded the year at 5-18.
