“Being able to be back at my alma mater and becoming the boys basketball coach has always been a goal of mine.”
For Tyler Wagner, that goal has turned into a winning shot as he steps into the Lynn Camp High School head boys basketball coach position for the upcoming 2023-2024 season.
“I’m excited to have Tyler as our new boys basketball coach and look forward to working with him,” said athletic director Marc Estep. Estep and school leadership made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon.
For Wagner, he doesn’t plan sitting around on the bench for long. His plans, and those of his players, are to come in and work hard.
“My goals coming in are just competing and playing hard. I don’t want to ever lay down to anyone as long as we come in every day and compete and play as hard as possible we can only get better.”
For Wagner, that is the key to a successful Wildcat team.
“Getting better everyday should be every program’s goal, and that will be this program’s goal, striving to get better every day.”
It’s the every day hard work and play that will help Wagner achieve his goals for the program. He wants former players and school alumni to be a part of that winning tradition.
“My long term vision is the same as competing for a district championship and an All-A championship and being competitive in the region. I think the alumni should expect open arms to anyone that wants to come and see what our program is doing. I welcome any alumni to come to our games and come be involved. I want the community to be involved and come back and enjoy Lynn Camp Basketball again. We used to have this place packed out every night and I would love to get back to that to support these kids and this program.”
Community and being a contributing member are important for the new coach. They are among the values he hopes to develop in his players.
“Players can expect to be held accountable and coached hard. I will give them my all and I expect the same from them. But, one thing is they need to be ready to enjoy basketball and have fun while we are getting better every day. I hope that I’m able to teach these young men how to be better men on and off the floor. The main goal is to make them a better person for the community and for their family.”
For Wagner, his coaching experience shows his commitment to the community and region. It also shows achieving his goal of being a head coach and returning home. He started as a graduate assistant for Union College men’s basketball under Kevin Burton in the 2016-2017 season. Following Union he served as assistant coach at Williamsburg from 2020-2021, assistant coach at Union from 2021-2022, and assistant coach at Whitley County from 2022-2023.
“I’m truly excited to get back to Lynn Camp,” said Wagner.
“Being a part of this community, I understand what it takes to get everyone involved and excited about Lynn Camp basketball. I think with hard work and dedication we can get things rolling and we will see nothing but good things start happening for this community and Lynn Camp boys basketball.”