City of Basketball Love

By Jared Leveson (@jared_leveson)

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First-year head coach Grant Harding is not in Kansas anymore. 

The 25-year-old isn't in the Land of Oz either—Harding's in Avon Grove, where he got his first head coaching job this summer.  

The former cattle rancher-slash-hooper has helped the Red Devils' core group of seniors qualify for the school's first District 1 6A tournament berth in seven years. 

No. 23 Avon Grove (12-10, 5-7 Ches Mont) will look to play spoiler against No. 10 Perkiomen Valley (19-5, 7-3 PAC) on Friday night. 

"We sat down at the beginning of the year and mapped out some goals that we had in mind that we felt were realistic and achievable," Harding said. "We didn't make all of our goals, but one of our main ones was the District playoff. It's exciting that we've made it." 

Hailing from Louisburg (Kan.), Harding spent his college career at JUCO Hesston College (Kan.), then NCAA Division II Pittsburg State University (Kan.), and finally NAIA Grand View (Iowa). He was undersized as a forward at 6-foot-3 but learned a lot through his playing days. 

"As far as coaching, you see three different styles of play, three different coaching styles, three different types of practices, and three different levels of play, which I think is helpful for me," he said. 

Harding came to Avon Grove in June after he and his wife, Cassidy, decided to move closer to her family. Previously, they spent a year and a half in a small town in Colorado, about 20 miles from the Kansas border. 

While in Colorado, she worked as a school teacher, and Harding worked on a cattle ranch. He intended on becoming a history teacher after college but found his way into ranching through local connections. 

"I thought it was a good time to go and try it," Harding recalled. "It's kind of nice at times to be the only person in a square mile or even more. It's a small community, so everybody knows everybody, and it's really easy to get involved in pretty much anything. 

"It was fun to learn and fun to be a part of." 

While getting bucked off horses, the former college hooper couldn't stay away from the game. Harding got involved with Cheyenne Wells High School's basketball program as an assistant head coach for the 2022-2023 season.

Cheyenne Wells went on to win its regional tournament. 

Balancing his ranch work with coaching got in the way sometimes because of overnight trips and long bus rides, but he made it work. Harding still works in agriculture at his wife's family's farm during the day. 

He's still unsure if the classroom is in his future, but coaching at Avon Grove is.

 The Red Devils finished at the bottom of the Chest-Mont National division last year with a 4-18 mark and 1-11 conference record. It's been a challenging first year with his growing pains and injuries to critical players like Adam Ziegler. 

They lost Ziegler in early January, which threw a wrench in their plans.

The young head coach, in his first season, had to adjust. 

Seniors Josh Cox, Brock Bernstein, and Anthony Borcky came to Harding's aid and stepped up in Ziegler's absence. 

Cox is a skilled scorer, but Harding challenged him to become a true point guard and keep the ball moving on offense. Bernstein provides toughness on the defensive end and can space the floor with his shooting. Borcky is the Red Devils' heart and soul; he plays with grit and the confidence to knock down big shots.

"I think our guys really came together and won some big games that ended up being crucial for us making our goal," Harding added. 

"It was a lot of fun to watch them progress and learn how to play basketball again without Adam." 

The Red Devils won six of their last ten games to sneak into the District 1 6A tournament. They have had Ziegler back in the fold since their win over Downingtown East on January 30.

Harding is glad to have Ziegler back with his team playing their best basketball all season. 

"I think our players have had a lot of fun with the change in win totals and being competitive in many of our games," he said. "I think it's crucial for us as a program to learn from our mistakes and continue to grow. 

"I think our guys have done a really good job of that." 

Harding wasn't culture-shocked when he moved to Chester County. The lack of cheerleaders and pep bands at every game took some time, though. Still, he expected the Ches-Mont conference to be as competitive and challenging as it is. 

He's new to the basketball scene here; however, he's not naive. He knows Perkiomen Valley will be a tough test for his Red Devils.

The young head coach keeps his team focused on controlling what Avon Grove can control. That's how they've made it this far. 

"I think, for the most part, basketball is basketball," Harding added. 

"For us to be successful, I think we've got to play our game, play hard, match the intensity of the game, and not be shocked if there's a good crowd or how hard they're playing.

 "We're excited for that challenge."