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I am currently the Varsity Boys Basketball Coach at Garden City High School in Michigan. I am writing this letter on behalf of Jan Firek and my shared experience with him last season as the Junior Varsity Head Coach here at Garden City High School. I have nothing but praise and admiration for him as a coach, a man, and a mentor of young men both on and off the court. I also am a teacher here at the High School so for me the biggest point of emphasis has always been on the “student” in the phrase “student athlete” and Coach Firek shared in that ideal. He was always on top of grades and check ins with the players reminding them that an education is a lifelong gift that no one can take away from you. His respect for them and caring for them reached beyond the court and it was an asset that I truly appreciated and admired about him.

In terms of his on the court abilities the energy, knowledge, and passion for basketball was clearly on display every single day. His emphasis on the fundamentals, the building blocks of players and teams, was tireless and stressed in every practice and game. He knew how to motivate the players and communicate with the players on a level that truly showed they were more than just players to him. He truly respected them as individuals and wanted to see them grow not only on the court but in life as well. I can truly say that even though we only spent one season together that not only are the players here better for it I am better for it as well as a coach and person. He was not just an “X and O” type of person, it was deeper and had more meaning to him than that. To put it rather simply he was not fake, he was genuine, he cared, and he did what we ask our players to do… LEAVE IT ALL ON THE COURT!

While I am sad to know I will not be working with him this season I am at least comforted knowing that he will be sharing his knowledge and passion for the game of basketball with athletes on a court somewhere. It was truly a pleasure to get to know him, to work with him and to learn from him. He will be an asset to any program and I am honored to be able to call him both a friend and coach.

I liked the coaching very well. Playing time started off a little rough a long with practice. Quickly however, things turned around. Play time was increased. The coaching was great and unique. It helped in all sorts of categories including, scoring, passing, defending, stamina and more. It also helped places of weakness like off hand drinking and even basketball IQ.