Jefferson tabs Edwards as girls basketball coach

CEDAR RAPIDS -- He has no head-coaching experience.

But Jason Edwards is full of energy.

"I think that's fair to say," Edwards said Friday after accepting the varsity girls' basketball job at Cedar Rapids Jefferson. "I am passionate about girls' basketball. I will bring a lot of positive energy to the table."

Edwards, 38, succeeds Larry Niemeyer, who stepped down last month after 52 years (including 34 at Jefferson).

He inherits a program that has slid backward in recent years, but one that's capable of rising again quickly. Jefferson was 9-14 last season, losing three starters -- Taylor Jacobson, Rachel Broghammer and Kaitlyn Davidson -- to injury. In their absence, Maddie Koolbeck blossomed into an all-conference post.

They'll all be seniors next year. And there is a very good crop of incoming freshmen.

"To have a chance to follow somebody like Larry Niemeyer, somebody who has done so much for high school girls' basketball, it's very humbling. It's an honor," Edwards said.

Broghammer said at a track meet Saturday that the consensus among the J-Hawks was they wanted Edwards. Six days later, they got their wish.

"The sky is the limit," Broghammer said last week.

Edwards graduated from Cedar Rapids Washington in 1991, and from Cornell College in 1995 with a degree in socio-ethnic studies. He earned a master's degree from Drake University.

He was an assistant under Frank Howell at Washington for eight years. In that time, the Warriors were state runners-up three times.

"I have mixed feelings, but more happy feelings for Jason than sad feelings for us," Howell said. "He deserves this. He's ready, as ready as anybody could possibly be.

"He'll provide immediate energy and enthusiasm; he's very charismatic. He's a motivator, a great people person."

Edwards serves at a counselor at Jefferson and is an assistant football coach there.

Jefferson Principal Chuck McDonnell said, "Jason brings a lot of energy to our basketball program. He is a student of the game and knows how to get the best from student-athletes and how to make basketball a fun experience for all involved.

"He is the kind of coach that inspires the best from his players and will work hard to develop the love of basketball for current and future J-Hawks."

Edwards and his wife, Jennifer, have a daughter -- 6-year-old Jaciana.