It’s an exciting time for varsity basketball at Lakeside. Both the boys and girls programs have new coaches this year, AJ Turner for the boys and Sandy Schneider for the girls. While these two coaches are both new, their journeys up to this point have been as different as you could imagine. This job marks Turner’s first varsity-level high school coaching job after a playing career in college at Northwestern University and professionally overseas; he was also the JVC boys coach last year. Meanwhile, Schneider has also played at a D1 level, at both the University of Washington and Central Missouri University. She has coached over 30 seasons of Lakeside Girls’ Basketball, leading the program to five state championships — this season is the third time she has retired and subsequently unretired from the program. I sat down with both coaches to talk over their hopes and goals for their season, how their different experiences and backgrounds shape how they coach, and more!
The following excerpts have been edited for grammar and concision.
Coach Schneider
Q: What is it like re-entering back into the coaching world after having re-entered before?
There’s definitely a familiarity about it. This isn’t my first rodeo. I was talking to my mother, and I [told her that] I’m a little nervous about this. She says, “Why? Why are you nervous? You’ve done it so many times before,” and [her point is] just don’t overthink it. She’s right. I’m excited. I’m more excited than nervous.
Q: How has your approach to coaching changed over the years?
Dr. Barnes [Schneider’s coach and mentor at Central Missouri University] was really smart and big on preparation. [She was] also big on strategy. She would study the other teams and then adjust what we do according to who we’re playing. And I’ve totally embraced that. I always train my team to be able to play four different teams in four different days at a state tournament. There’s a reason why [my teams] were so successful at state. We trained for it from day one.
I consider myself[…] very flexible and very adaptable. I’ve had teams that are huge, no guards. I’ve had no point guard, [where you have to] make a point guard [by training]. I’ve had every variety of team [possible]. I’ve had a team with no [one] taller than 5’9″ and we won a state championship. Well, we [played] a couple [state championships] with that team […] So I’ve had every different kind of team. And so when I look at the kids, I go, “Do they remind me of any team that I’ve coached?” And the answer is yes. They absolutely do. They remind me of a state championship team in ’94-’92/’94. Those are very similar teams. So I look at what do we run there, why did we run that, and who did we feature, and pressing, running, [athleticism].
I’ve [run] all those systems. I’m adaptable. We have no big kids, so we run this. We have big kids, we do this[…] I’ve got a [play]book [from] every team I’ve coached. I went through and I grabbed the books, and I was looking like, “Oh, yeah, we did that. Oh, yeah, we did that […] I’m just [asking myself] what did we do with that team that was successful?” […] I call it tweaking. I do a lot of tweaking […] What does [the team] already do, and how can we tweak it to the talent level?
Q: How do you balance winning now and player development?
When you use the word “win,” for me it’s an acronym, W-I-N. What’s Important Now? When we were in 1993, we had a 56-game win streak […] And so how did I keep the kids still motivated when every day in the paper it’s like, well, we won 40, we won 41? Literally every day, [in bold letters], we won 42, we won 43. And the kids are like, oh, we’re really good. How do I keep them focused on the moment, what’s important now, regardless of what we did in the past, regardless of what we’re going to do tomorrow? The most important game is the game we’re playing today. Nothing else matters […] So when you talk about winning, I talk about that, being present in the moment right here, right now.
Q: What did you notice specifically about the team from last year? And additionally, from training camp and summer practices, how would you describe this team and group?
Well, the first thing is why I agreed to [come out of retirement again]. Before I said yes [to the job], my assistant Kivonne and I sat down with the core group of returning players and had a long chat about what they’re looking for in [a new coach] and […] who we are to see if we match […] I have to say the kids are such a selling feature. When I walked out of the meeting, I said I can’t say no because they’re awesome. They love each other. They really are tight. They’re unselfish. The previous coach, [Coach Augustavo-Fischer], did a great job [creating] camaraderie. And you can see it on the floor too. I really love that. I love that about their team […] What a great starting point for us.
Q: What are your goals for the season and as a coach with this team?
I want them playing [in] the last game of the state tournament. I want them on that floor having that experience. I want to be there with them for that to happen. I’ve always thought I want [my team] to play the last game in this high school season. That’s possible. That’s big. But what do we have to do in order to get to that? A lot of things. But truly success [is that] the kids and the coaches […] have a lot of fun, and that we do it together and that we create[…] a really special experience [amongst ourselves]. That’s what I truly want. Something bigger than themselves that they’re proud to be part of. The students, by the time they get here and they’re sophomore, juniors, they put in so much time and so much energy into being accomplished athletes and players. I don’t want to let them down. I want to give them everything we’ve got to be worthy of all that effort.
Q: If there’s like one piece of advice you’d want to give Coach Turner as a coach, what would it be?
I would say be patient. Because here’s what happens [in] your first year: You don’t even know what you don’t know. So be patient with yourself. Delegate. Surround yourself with great people. But it takes time to be able to build a staff that you trust. I’ve surrounded myself with only people I trust…And then [most importantly], he has to make it his own. You’re going to get advice from freaking everybody about how to do it. You really have to pick and choose what you’re going to actually internalize.
Coach AJ
Q: How did you get into coaching?
A: A friend of mine, Alex Schrempf, Detlef Schrempf’s son [inspired me to start coaching]. He coached Friends of Hoops, which is an AAU [Amateur Athletics Union] team here in Seattle. Not this past summer, but the one before. He was coaching, and they were looking for an assistant coach. So they were just joining the EYBL [the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League] so they wanted more coaches and he just called me and asked if I’d be interested. I’d recently stopped playing so I accepted the offer.
Q: How was the transition from playing professionally to coaching?
A: Yeah, it’s definitely different, because I’m used to being out there and having the ability to directly impact the game. But now, being on the sidelines, it’s a different point of view. My job is to prepare the players so that when they go out there, they can have the impact that I used to have. But I still carry with me the same competitiveness; the same lessons I’ve learned from playing.
Q: What important lessons have you learned in your playing career that will shape how you coach?
A: I think it’s all translatable. How you can get better as a player is something I can teach; it’s a simple formula. It’s simple, but it’s not easy. It’s really just putting in the work consistently. It takes discipline. There’s going to be obstacles that become part of the journey. It’s about your mindset and just showing up every day for yourself so that you can show up for others and that’s pretty much what I’m going to teach the kids.
I’m recently and freshly removed from playing so I still know what it’s like, and I’m by far the youngest coach in the Metro League, but I think that’s an advantage for me because I can connect with the kids… I’d say the biggest lesson is just discipline, showing up every day, putting in extra work, kind of what I was doing with the Breakfast Club [The Breakfast Club was Turner’s series of morning workouts before school last season, where he helped players focus on individual skill development.] last year, just finding ways to create opportunities for kids to get in here and get better and really fall in love with the game that I love so much.
Q: You mentioned that you are the youngest coach in the league right now. Are there any older coaches you’ve been talking to as you craft your approach to the program?
A: I’ve honestly been talking with my Northwestern coaches. They’ve been very supportive in my coaching journey, Coach Collins [AJ’s head coach at Northwestern] specifically. I’ve realized a lot of how I see the game is based on how he sees it. I am also working with Coach Broom, learning how he did his things, but this is a new regime. This is brand new, you know, I’m coming into this fresh and putting my personality and my own stamp on this. I’m taking input from those around me and that I have access to, but at the end of the day, it’s mine.
Q: What type of basketball do you want Lakeside to play?
A: I mean, we’re definitely gonna play hard. I know that’s cliché, but I also want my guys to play free. Like I said, I think I’m very different from most of the coaches in the Metro League. I’m still getting familiar with all of them, but like I said, I’m a player’s coach. I’m recently removed from playing, so I want guys to play hard and play free and not worry and look over at the sideline while they’re playing. But also, we’re gonna work. We’re gonna work really hard. So I’m hoping that when students and alumni and parents and fans come and watch the game, they’re seeing a cohesive unit that plays together, plays hard. And that you can see the joy in the game. I think joy is the biggest thing I wanna push.
Q: Obviously, as JVC coach last year, your role was primarily to focus on player development and help mold younger players for eventual success in the Varsity program. Now, as head coach, your responsibilities shift. How do you want to balance development & immediate results?
A: I think the good thing about where we are in the program is we have a lot of young and hungry guys. We have enough returning players so that we’ll be able to compete with everybody. Of course, I want to win games, but going into this I’m not saying we need to win every game. I’m more focused on the habits and the input and what we’re doing every day in practice and making sure that we’re a well-oiled machine so that winning is just a byproduct of what we’re putting out.
Q: What are the most important things you want to impart on the players this year?
I think a couple of things. Showing up every day, that’s a lesson for life. You’re not always going to be at 100 percent. You’re not always going to be good to go. I’m just looking to teach them to show up first for yourself every day so that you can show up for your teammates and whatever your 100 is that day like, give that. Then I’d say the other thing is there’s going to be obstacles and challenges but you have to embrace them. Whenever there is an obstacle that just becomes the journey. There’s learning lessons in losses. There’s learning lessons in challenges and hardships. And the more we kind of embrace that, I think the better our mindset will be. I think my biggest [key] is trying to teach them about mindset and being present and showing up every day.
