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East Jordan fans can place a lot of the foundation for the team's success on the fact that new head coach Darrin Weber has taken the helm at the school. Considering Weber's past achievements as a head varsity coach, the praise is well founded.

"I gotta say, the parents, teachers and fans are thrilled to have a coach and teacher of Darrin Weber's ability here in East Jordan. Darrin comes to us with a strong history of winning. He is bringing in tradition and respect with him,Ó commented the parent of one Red Devil player.

Weber, who grew up in Manistique has been a winner on the basketball court as a player and a coach since his own prep days.

"The big thing is to get the mind-set, academically and in terms of basketball. You're representing your school in terms of how you look at the games and how well you do in the classroom,Ó Weber said about how he approaches his coaching duties and how he leads his teams.

Weber started his basketball career as a two-year varsity player at Manistique High School, where he averaged 30 points and 12 rebounds a game and was selected third team Class D all-state. At one point, he held the No. 5 spot on the state's all time list in free throws made. In his senior season, he sank an impressive 185 of 241 free throws - 76.8 percent.

Following high school, Weber attended Gogebic Community College in Ironwood, where he played two seasons in the juco ranks. He then transferred to Olivet College, a Division III school, and in his senior season he was selected first team Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association allconference and was named his team's most valuable player.

With these impressive credentials as a player, Weber continued to remain active in the sport as a high school coach and his talent for the game seemed to transfer to the players he coached.

Weber comes to the East Jordan program after five years at Marlette High School, which is a member of the Greater Thumb East League. The 2003 Marlette team was No. 1 among the state Class C schools in academic grade point average, and in Weber's final season there Marlette went 16-6 and won the league title for the first time in 10 years. Prior to that Weber coached White Pines, a small school of 50 students in the western end of the upper peninsula. White Pines reached No. 5 in the state Class D at one point and sported a 19-4 record during Weber's final year as coach. That year, Weber was named the Upper Peninsula Coach of the Year.

Weber interviewed with several schools before accepting the East Jordan job. He selected this area because it was about half way from his family in Manistique and his children in Marlette. The basketball tradition here was also a big factor in his choice.

"The Lake Michigan Conference is probably the best basketball conference in Northern Michigan. Knowing enough about the area, I looked forward to building a program here,Ó Weber said.

The new head man jumped right into the job. Weber is diligently working with the school and the community as he strives to instill a whole new basketball scheme on the hardwood and a new outlook in his players. "It's really been a nice situation here. Mr. Hansen, the superintendent, and Mr. Hines, the athletic director, have been incredible in their support,Ó he said. "The community as a whole is very supportive.Ó

Hopefully the situation is nice enough so that coach Weber and the Red Devils can continue to build on their winning start and turn this into a successful basketball season at East Jordan.