Niemeyer in 33rd year with J-Hawks
Larry Niemeyer has a strict “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy at Jefferson High School.
Don’t ask when he’s going to retire, because he won’t tell you.
“I get tired of people walking up and saying, ‘When are you going to retire?’” Niemeyer remarked during an interview. “My comment is, ‘When the hell are you going to retire?’”
He’s thought about getting a ballcap with writing on the bill to forestall queries. ”I’m going to put up here, ‘Don’t ask,’” he claimed, but said his wife won’t let him.
And don’t bother asking how old he is. “What’s that got to do with anything?” he said. “If I were 50, nobody would put that in the paper.”
For the record, the 70-something head coach was not being ornery or cantankerous. He simply things age — and coaching longevity — have nothing to do with what he’s trying to accomplish with the Jefferson girls’ basketball team this season.
This is Niemeyer’s 33rd year at Jefferson and his 51st year overall as a girls’ basketball coach. It’s been a remarkable career, with a 520-232 record at Jeff (including the 1993 state title) and an 854-323 mark overall. And last summer, he became the first prep softball coach in the country with 2,000 wins.
Last Updated on Thursday, 30 December 2010 23:43
