New Prairie High School gained two new coaches this year. Both Mike Bauer and Jim Matz are also new to the New Prairie teaching staff.
“I teach, Government, US History, and Current Events,” said Bauer.
Bauer is married with two daughters, one of whom attends Mishawaka Catholic High School.
He is the boys basketball varsity coach. Before coming to New Prairie, he coached at Saint Joseph High School in South Bend for 11 years.
One of Bauer’s favorite things about coaching is seeing the boys always working hard in practice.
“My favorite part of coaching is seeing hard work in practice paying off in games,” said Bauer.
Bauer started coaching at New Prairie this summer. Since working with the team in summer, they have made many improvements.
“I have seen much improvement in our team since this summer. The guys’ hard work in practice is showing on game night,” said Bauer.
He brought a unique coaching style that has helped the team improve over the season.
Junior Hunter Smith said, “Bauer is different because he focuses a lot on the details and how things are done, not that they just are done.”
Bauer’s team has had a great season so far. They are 7-5 so far and are going to the Bi-County Championship this weekend. They won against Argos on January 21st. They play on January 24, and if they win they will play in the championship on January 25th.
Jim Matz also has had a great season so far. The team is about to reach their 30th win as a team.
Matz is married and has 4 kids. He teaches Special Education here at New Prairie.
Matz has extensive wrestling experience.
“I wrestled in high school and did a little in college. I also wrestled while I was in college,” said Matz. I also coached at the high school I taught at when I first started teaching.”
When Matz first met the team, he said that they were very respectful and did what he asked of them.
Sophomore Hunter Whitenack said, “My first impression of these guys were they were complete weirdos, but I ended up actually loving my time with them.”
Over the course of the season the team has made many improvements.
“I have seen improvements; however you would need to ask them,” said Matz.
The team also agrees with Matz that their wrestling has improved, but they have also improved in other aspects.
“These coaches have helped me grow as a wrestler, but more importantly they helped me grow as a man with self discipline,” said Whitenack.
Even though Matz loves the sport of wrestling himself, his favorite part of coaching is just being with the kids.
“I love seeing the progression and confidence grow. It is remarkable seeing the growth from season to season,” said Matz.
Matz’s mentality that he uses towards the wrestlers makes him stand out from other coaches.
“Personally I connect with coach Matz a lot because he brought a hard working mentality, which has pushed me to being a top heavy weight in the state,” said Whitenack.
Both coach Bauer and coach Matz bring their unique styles of coaching, while sharing certain aspects that help the Cougars improve their skills.