Coaching power couple of Brady, Stacy Jasper has Hiawatha High School hoops soaring this season

By: Brett Kennedy

(HIAWATHA, KS) – In Hiawatha, Kansas, the Red Hawks basketball teams are having incredible season so far. At the time of this story, the boys sit 13-3 and the girls at 15-1. The Hiawatha teams not only share great starts this year, but they also have a pair of coaches with the same last name leading the charge. Brady and Stacy Jasper are Hiawatha’s coaching power couple.

“It’s been really fun, we’ve been doing it together for a long time. Gosh, twelve to thirteen years here,” said Stacy Jasper. “It’s been fun, especially this year where both programs are so good.”

Stacy is in her second season leading the Hiawatha girls, while Brady, currently the boys skipper, coached the girls’ team for years before Stacy took over. Coaching runs in the Jasper family blood. Brady’s older brother Derek has been the longtime girls’ basketball and football coach at Troy High School, so it’s no surprise that coach. And the love of basketball brought Brady and Stacy together as well.

“We’ve coached together here for ten or eleven years and a few years before that at Colby Community College out west. That’s actually where we met,” said Brady Jasper. “She was the recreation director there in Colby, Kansas, and I was the women’s basketball coach at the community college there. After a couple of years, she and I did that together as far as coaching the team and recruiting all the players to come to Colby and participate. So it’s been quite a journey really.”

So with two head coaches in the same household, do they ever give each other coaching advice?

“You must not be married. I’m not going to be giving any advice to my wife on very many topics and certainly not basketball at this time of the year,” said Brady Jasper. “She’s done just really well with her team. If you had a chance to watch them tonight, the way they play under control and execute for her has been remarkable to watch.”

“I’ve coached with him for so long and to be honest, he’s my coaching mentor. He’s the one I’ve spent the most time with regarding basketball,” said Stacy Jasper. “I was excited to take over the program last year, but we’ve kept so many things around that we’ve done previously. He’s a good coach, so why wouldn’t I (ask for advice)?

When asked the big question though of who is the better coach, the Jaspers respond as every loving husband and wife should, having the utmost respect for their partner.

“Brady (is for sure), said Stacy Jasper.

“There’s no question she’s the better coach,” said Brady Jasper. “Her record’s better. She’s higher ranked right now. It seems like it speaks for itself.”